20. Friends

I've been thinking a lot recently about how lucky I've been to have all of the great friends that I do at my current school. They are some of the most loving, supportive, funny, and fun-loving people I have ever met. It hasn't always been that way; when I first moved to my current school, I was paralyzed by an intense workload and the massive number of students, and thus I struggled to make friends. But within the past year, I have finally found my niche, and bet dozens of wonderful people because of it. By taking notice of their values, and adapting some of those values as my own, I have become a more open-minded, conscientious person. They have taught me how to think through the repercussions of my own actions and words, and how to stand up for what you believe in. They have taught me how to have fun and make the most out of life. As cheesy as it sounds, my friends have made my school experience better than I could have ever imagined.