Twenty years ago I entered my senior year in high school. I had just come home from a summer in Ecuador, and I had shoulder length blonde hair that I was devising a plan to cut into a pixy (do I sleep with gum? Do I just lie? My parents would never let me do it). I had gained a solid 10 or 15 lbs. that summer to add to the several I already possessed overweight. Heroin chic I was not, but maybe I could go skater/raver/punk. The girls at school already didn't quite get me, so who would care?

That year I clad myself in funky vintage sweaters and JNCO. I lied to cut off my hair, and desperately searched out an identity that wasn't entirely centered on singing. I didn't think I was able to be who I desperately wanted to be, so I had to find an alternative.

Fast forward twenty years, and it is well-established that I am a quirky bird. "Fitting in" is finding my people- just a handful who get who I am and where I'm going (so what if I had to birth half of them:). And at this point, I know who I am, and I'm alright with me. I'm still tweaking, and that's ok. High school wasn't everything, but it was an important season that shaped some of how I see myself and the world.

So seniors, everyone is probably telling you that high school doesn't matter in the scheme of things, but I would like to say that it all matters. Every little piece of your life can be used for something else, if nothing but for a blog you write in 20 years. This isn't a "no regrets" speech, because boy, do I have regrets (that pixy, for instance). I am just saying that it's not wasted, so don't let people talk you down. That's all.

So here is the lovely, intelligent, confident, and free Alissa.