de Toledo alumni give us their advice about seizing the moment in high school.  

We are a family. Here at de Toledo High School, this idea has been, and continues to be, embedded in our minds. However, it does not stop once our years here are done.

Over the course of four years, we are going to create bonds with people that can never be replaced.

Because we are a family, no matter how long we go without seeing each other, we are always there for each other.

As each senior class graduates, part of our family leaves. However, due to this nurturing and loving home that we are all fortunate to be a part of, the seniors can’t bear to be away for too long.

I am the oldest of four. I have always longed to have an older sibling, a confidant, someone who’s got my back. There’s a difference between getting advice from a parent and getting advice from an older sibling.

This luxury of having an older sibling is something many people are very fortunate to have. If you look at it in a certain way, the students here at de Toledo are kind of like siblings. In that case, I would have a lot of older siblings.

I interviewed past de Toledo alumni, people who I was close to, and people who I wasn’t. I asked them questions about things that they would change if they could do high school over again. I asked them what regrets they had and what they took away from school here.

Since these de Toledo alumni are like our older siblings,  we need to trust them in order to make our time here the best it can be.

The first person I interviewed was Moses Goodman. He was a graduate of the class of 2016 and used to swim with me on the swim team.

Moses said that if he could go back and give one piece of advice to his high school self, it would be to “[be] open to meeting new people because I closed myself off in my own group and it didn’t allow me to blossom.”

Moses’s reflection rings true to me. Freshman year I was very nervous about meeting new people. I stuck to my own group of friends, too nervous to venture out into the big scary world of de Toledo.

Looking back, it was silly to be so nervous, especially considering that de Toledo is the least intimidating high school there is.

Moses’s advice is really helpful, especially since the year has yet to come into full swing. We are all still figuring ourselves out, so now is the perfect opportunity to apply Moses’s wisdom to our own lives and branch outside our comfort zones.

What’s the worst that can happen?

The second person I asked was Geordan Neinstein. Geordan also graduated with the class of 2016 and happens to be my cousin. When asked what piece of advice he thinks would benefit the students at dTHS, Geordan advised us to “[not] be afraid to try new things, because things can surprise you.”

Here at de Toledo, we are offered countless opportunities that enable us to broaden our horizons. We need to take advantage of these opportunities in order to make these years some of the best ones of our lives.

Brooke Smallson, a graduate of 2015, urges that we don’t wait until senior year to get involved and put ourselves out there. de Toledo is a safe environment that allows us to make mistakes. We are never going to grow if we don’t take risks.

In order to find ourselves, we need to allow ourselves to fail. To do this, we need to break away from familiarity and stop focusing so heavily on what other people think. We can’t be afraid.

As I interviewed different alumni of de Toledo, I found a similarity in all of their answers. Each past de Toledo alumni stated that if they could give one piece of advice to us, the current de Toledo students, it would be to not be afraid.

Yes, high school can be a scary time. But do you want to look back and have regrets about not making new friends, or venturing out of your own comfort zone of just a few friends? Do you want to look back and always question what could have been?

As one of my favorite movies, Letters To Juliet says, “‘What’ and ‘If’ are two words as nonthreatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? …”

You don’t want to live the rest of your life always wondering “What if?”; What if I joined the tennis team? What if I talked to him? What if I sat with a new group of people at lunch one day? What if I challenged myself more in school?  

High school is four years. That’s all we get. If you don’t do it now, when will you?

The alumni I interviewed gave responses in the hopes that we will take their advice into consideration as the new year begins. They want us to learn from their mistakes.

We still have time left before our high school years are over. Whether you are a senior, a freshman, or anything in between, it is never too late to try something new.

Before you know it, each of you will be a part of that senior class graduating, another part of the de Toledo family leaving. It’s now or never.

So today at school, say hi to someone that you don’t know.

What’s the worst that can happen?