By Samantha Ovargaard, Guest Column

It&8217;s amazing how I can remember my first day of high school so clearly. I had to wear my soccer jersey because we had a game that day and I spent hours making sure my hair looked just right.

I wasn&8217;t scared or nervous because I knew all my friends and classmates would be right there with me, going through the same thing.

It&8217;s amazing how now, four years later, we are again going through the same thing, but this time we are saying goodbye and heading for college.

High school consumes four years of our lives. Most students change drastically from freshman to senior year. For me, I no longer woke up at 7 a.m. to do my hair. Instead, I would wake up at 7:45 a.m. and barely beat the bell to class.

Students go through a lot of changes while at high school. For some of us, it is a time to mature into more than just annoying kids. It is a time when we get to be ourselves and have more fun than ever before. We meet new people, realize how amazing the people we already knew are and get a reality check on what lies ahead of us.

While in high school, I became aware of what my strengths and weaknesses are. I found my talents and discovered what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.

I truly believe friends and the people around me are what made my past four years so great. I have made relationships that I hope will last a lifetime, and I have uncovered the true sides to people, which aren&8217;t always so pleasant. However, despite the fact there can be unkind people in the world, I have done my best to not pick silly fights with friends or be cruel to others. Life is just too short.

I had to take a step back and look at my life. Right now all my friends are packing for college, and so am I. This doesn&8217;t leave time to be on nonspeaking terms with friends or to be fighting over things said and done. I can&8217;t take a couple days to cool off from a fight because by the time I&8217;m ready to talk they might be 500 miles away.

I recently had to say goodbye to a very good friend, Jaclyn Rehmke. Before her day finally came to leave I spent as much time with her as I could. I made sure we always had a good time and that there was never a dull moment. I wanted to steal every bit of laughter from her that I could.

Now she is gone, and I miss her.

Life is too short to be mean to others.

Life is too short to not say I love you.

I have a large group of friends and for that I feel blessed. The only problem is I have to see every one of them leave for college. However, I am lucky to have a least a couple of my friends at college with me.

I have faith in myself to keep in touch with my friends and that when we all come home for the holidays we will get together. It&8217;s just hard when I get bored at night I won&8217;t be able to call them to hang out.

For those of you yet to leave, be good to your friends. Life is just too short.

Samantha Overgaard was the staff intern for the Albert Lea Tribune this summer. Friday was her last day. She will continue to write occasionally about her transition to college.