“I can’t wait for this to be over!” Let’s be honest, we’ve all been found guilty of saying that 8-word phrase in regards to school, work, or just life in general. Those eight words might seem like nothing, but they involve a person wishing that a moment would pass. Moments of self-doubt, stress, or sometimes scarceness. Or simply that a part of a day or life could be skipped. 

   This was especially apparent during the height of the pandemic. I can so clearly remember people hoping that Covid would be gone and they could go back to “normal life” or “the way it used to be.” To be honest, I agreed. 

   Being stuck at home with my family sucked sometimes. Very early into quarantine, I got annoyed at constantly hearing my sister’s and mother’s voices. I got mad that things I loved were canceled. I got frustrated at everything, knowing that I couldn’t do anything. Only being able to access my friends and family through a phone, I felt helpless. 

   At the time, I thought to myself  “I can’t wait for this to be over! I want to see my friends, go out to eat, and even go to school!” This is something that I think about now. Sometimes, when I am writing essays for class or doing math homework, I wish I was back in quarantine. When everything was unknown and new. No one knew how to survive in a pandemic. With the new and unknown, I got to experience stuff I thought I could before. I could hop onto Google Meet calls to meet for office hours if I wanted to, make my own schedule, and do my homework when I felt like it. It seemed like a glimpse into college life, allowing me to make my own decisions and rules. 

   Now, I wake up at six a.m. and begrudgingly get dressed and ready for school. I would give anything for school to start at nine a.m. again. Getting to turn on my computer in my PJs and attend school at home was a dream! In the meantime, when I am at school, I miss my dogs, getting to sleep in, and even the sound of my mother’s and sister’s voices traveling throughout the house on Zoom calls. 

   Looking back, I regret saying that I wish the pandemic never happened. Without it, my life would be completely different. I truly don’t know to what extent Covid actually affected my teenage years. Would I have gotten my license earlier? Would I have made different friends? Would I have learned what I did? But, instead of dwelling on the what-ifs of the pandemic, I think about I would have never rediscovered my love for reading or have found my passion for writing. Both are things that I don’t think I could live without now. 

   Covid isn’t the only thing that has made me think about those eight seemingly simple words. Now that I am almost three months into my senior year, I catch myself reflecting on where I fall in this world. Applying to colleges has really put life into perspective for me. Learning how to write and talk about myself is something that I was never taught how to do. I was never instructed how to boost myself up while seeming like a genuine person and a student they would want on their campus. 

   While sitting down and writing essays, asking for letters of recommendation, and keeping up with school work, I told myself, “I can’t wait for this to be over!” But now that the time has come and I have gotten 3/9 acceptance letters. It’s all feeling too real. I feel like just yesterday, I was entering high school and rolling my eyes at the idea of applying to college. 

   Time is going by so quickly and I feel immobilized. Oftentimes, I catch myself thinking about leaving home; I think about leaving the comfort of my friends and family for college, which seems almost like leaving my life behind for another life. A chapter in my life is coming to a close and I am not ready. Covid has definitely taken away from my complete high school experience, I still feel as if I am not quite ready to part ways with high school and leave the “Bloomfield Bubble.” 

   So my advice and take away from these simple eight words is: go hang out with your friends, have conversations with your teachers (they can actually be really interesting people), and do that thing you’ve been waiting to do. 

   Life isn’t going to wait around for you to get it together. Seconds, hours, and days will pass you if you don’t stop and enjoy it. Instead of devaluing the little moments in life that seem pointless. Take comfort in them. One day you will look back and be sorry that you wished that moment away.