This summer at my cottage, I spent time with my brother and his friend Michael who just returned from their junior year at college. I remember the night so clearly, it was a cool August night and the three of us were gathered around the dying light of the fire. As we looked out onto the calm lake, my parent went inside for the night. The conversation started by by me asking what they missed most about high school. This lead them to tell me all about their high school experiences, and eventually to what they regretted about high school. They immediately said, “Study hard, and don't get stuck up on high school drama.” Then they sat and thought for a while, before my brother slowly said, “ And don’t forget to have a good time… you only get one chance to go through high school, mine as well make it memorable.”  When he said these three things, I rolled my eyes and thought to myself, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I have heard all this before from many people. Study hard and have fun, blah blah blah.”
However, what he said did leave a big impact on me, because the more I thought about what he said, “Don’t forget to have a good time”, the more meaning it had to me. For me, it concluded to this, do something that will get you a good story to tell later on, because if you do, then you should have no regrets about high school. So those are the two questions I ask myself, will it make for a good story to tell later? And will I regret not doing this in the future?  I ask myself these questions when I am faced with any new opportunities in my life.
Earlier this fall I put these my two questions to use. It was a hot, sunny day on Mackinac Island, when my parents and I finally finished our long bike ride around the island. We came to a rocky beach when my dad sarcastically dared me jump in the crystal clear water. To his surprise I did just that. Without hesitation, I stripped down into my underwear and dove head first into the icy Straits of Mackinac. Although it is not a life changing event, it’s a funny story to tell later on; that I swam half naked in the freezing waters of Mackinac, in front of dozens of people.
This is how I want to live, not just the rest of high school, but for the rest of my life. With a “why not?” kind of attitude. By doing so, I am sure I will will rack up great stories, but more importantly, I will have a good time doing them. Because in the end, isn’t that what really matters, to having a good time?