The blue light of my phone glares down at me, and I glance at the time. It’s 1:34 a.m., and I have a 9 a.m. class tomorrow. I know I should go to bed, but I can’t seem to put my phone down. I’m sifting through old high school photos, moving in and out of my Photos app and my Snapchat memories, grinning to myself. An old prom photo appears on my screen, and I laugh aloud, remembering how fun that night was and what meaningful memories were made, while scrolling to see the next picture. 

Bringing this up to some friends, they tell me to “close the yearbook,” explaining that high school has passed and we’re all in new places and times in our lives. While I recognize that sentiment, and I do agree that talking about high school too much is, well, too much, I propose a new way to think about our high school years.  

I propose we normalize still talking about and reminiscing on our pasts. It seems like high school continues to become such a taboo subject as you get older, but I personally don’t understand why we can’t look fondly on the good times that we had then, while simultaneously growing into new people and moving toward bigger and better things. Two things can be true at the same time.  

If anything, looking back on my aspirations and goals from then only makes me notice the growth and changes we’ve all undergone. For me, this fosters a strong sense of accomplishment and pride in what I’ve accomplished since becoming an alumna. After all, our high school selves are still semi-current versions of ourselves; they are who we were just a few short years ago.  

High school is such a pivotal time in our lives, with many emotions, milestone moments and instances of self-discovery. Lord knows we all have more than enough lore to go around from those years, so why should we disregard that just because we’re in college now? Leaving high school behind is not such a black-and-white issue. I have laughed the hardest I ever have, met some of my best friends and made some core memories during those four years. Why leave them completely in the dust?  

Let’s normalize high school nostalgia. Not only does it help us fortify our own sense of self and accomplishment, but it also keeps us grounded and focused on our future.