“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris Buller said it in the 1986 film “Ferris Buller’s Day Off.” Those words seem to be the overarching message passed on from hallways to yearbooks to graduation speeches. Though this sentiment is widely agreed on, it completely glosses over a large portion of the student body.

Many Woodbridge High students did not enjoy their time in high school, overall rating their experience roughly 3/5 stars. However, movies, books, shows and adults alike make high school out to be a time of growing up without responsibility, where football games and dances are the only focus. How much of that is clouded by a rosy-colored lens of nostalgia?

Senior Ayca Koksal was one of the many who were heavily influenced by the plethora of media depicting the high school experience. From the “High School Musical” franchise to standalone movies like “Radio Rebel” and “Lemonade Mouth,” these movies have played a pivotal role in our understanding and expectations for what high school could look like for us one day. While not all media depicting high school glamorize it, just a few movies were enough to influence a whole generation.

“I definitely thought [high school] wasn’t gonna be like what it is. I thought it was going to be like High School Musical. I was ready to find my Troy Bolton and burst into song in the middle of the cafeteria. That didn’t happen,” Koksal stated.

Beyond movies and shows that shaped our perception, influencers and more modern forms of media are just as influential.

“If you follow someone popular in high school, they’re gonna [say that] high school is great, but then reality [for many] [is] that it’s a toxic place,” Koksal mentioned.

As Koksal expressed, high school is a subjective experience — the best four years for many, but the worst four years for others. Regardless of your experience, the opinions and influences of those around us subtly shape our perceptions and expectations regarding the so-called “best four years.”

Whether on social media or in real life, most students encounter older figures who encourage them to romanticize high school before they even enter their freshman year.

“I had set really high expectations for high school, and I think that contributed to how disappointed I feel looking back,” senior Leah So said.

So had several adults in her life who had led her to believe that high school was going to be like a typical coming-of-age film. Going into high school with that preconceived notion only led her to be underwhelmed by the lack of cinematic experiences in high school.

Students should go into high school with a blank slate so they can determine their own path and make the most out of their own unique experience. Otherwise, their expectations may not align with their true experience, causing a negative association with high school.

Although high school may not prove to be the best experience for everyone, it is often seen as an important time for students to mature and form meaningful friendships.

“I think it’s just that protected space and time to really just devote yourself to something fully without any feelings of obligation to make money off of it or to support yourself financially,” physics teacher Dimitri Kaviani said. “You’re kind of shielded in some ways from the realities of the world.”

This sense of protection creates an environment where students are able to focus not only on their interests, but also on the people around them. High school becomes one of the few places where friendships can grow consistently over time because students spend hours together every day, not yet limited by adult responsibilities.

High school also exposes students to a wide range of perspectives, forcing them to learn how to communicate, collaborate and empathize with people they may not otherwise have encountered. These everyday interactions, including group projects, class discussions and shared experiences, help shape how students understand others and themselves.

While high school may fall short of the idealized version created by media and adults, it continues to be a critical period for students to prepare for adulthood. However, this does not mean the experience is universally positive. Social pressures, academic stress and unequal opportunities can make high school challenging for many students. Still, these difficulties are part of what contributes to personal growth, as students learn to navigate both positive and negative experiences. In this way, high school becomes a period of self-discovery, where students develop skills that will support them in life wherever they decide to go.

At the end of the day, high school is not meant to be a movie. Outside pressure to live up to some perfect, picture-worthy version of these four years only makes the real experience harder to appreciate. For some students, it is exciting and memorable. For others, it is exhausting, stressful or just something to get through. What matters more than chasing these unrealistic expectations is figuring out what high school means for you. Instead of chasing a scripted version of what these years should look like, students are better off focusing on what is real, even if it is not always perfect.