By Soleil Shah

Throughout high school, students make hundreds of decisions. Some decisions have little impact, like deciding what to have for lunch. But other decisions can make impacts so large that they affect students for the rest of their lives, such as choosing a college or career path. It is important to be mindful of decisions, so they do not turn into regrets. A regret is any feeling of sadness or disappointment over a past action. Everyone makes a poor decision occasionally, and amongst the teenagers at Ponte Vedra High School (PVHS), many students share similar regrets. 

There is a lot of pressure to take Advanced Placement courses during high school. With promise to raise GPA and improve transcripts, why shouldn’t a student choose to take them? Lauren B. (11), PVHS student, has taken on three AP classes this school year while juggling with a job at The Loop and lifeguarding. Lauren says that it certainly is a struggle to balance work and seven classes, several of which are AP. Lauren regrets overloading herself this year and plans on choosing classes more carefully for her senior year. PVHS senior Emma A. also balances school with her after-school job. Emma agrees that it requires extra responsibility to manage school with work, and even though she feels a little bit of regret, Emma thoroughly enjoys her job and takes the busy schedule as a good learning opportunity. 

Another common regret among teens relates to their social lives. As students go through high school, making new friends and losing friendships is a normal part of life. However, sometimes social decisions turn into regrets. One PVHS student commented that they regret not going to homecoming during their freshman year. They said that they were initially too nervous to go, but ended up regretting missing what could have been a fun, memorable night spent with friends. Ignacio G. (10) attends PVHS and said that his biggest regret so far was dating the wrong person. It is important to hang out with the right people, and not take the time with true friends for granted, or else it might seem as though valuable time was lost.  

Sometimes, people get upset because they feel like they could have avoided making a wrong decision. For example, PVHS junior Matthew J. (11) regrets making a silly mistake on a math problem during an intense math competition. The error cost him winning what could have been a great accomplishment in his life. Another PVHS junior, this one on the girls weightlifting team, strongly regrets pushing herself too hard during practice because it resulted in her getting a painful back injury.  

It can be hard to always make the right decisions, and sometimes is simply out of one’s control. Making good decisions now can set up a good foundation for later on in life. And it is important not to dwell on bad decision, because it is more than likely someone else has gone through something similar. Moving on from regrets is pivotal, but learning from a regret or mistake is just as important because it helps one to become a more improved person. Ponte Vedra High School offers several skilled and experienced counselors who are always standing by with open ears. Discussing obstacles with a professional counselor can make all the difference.