What one thing should all students know before their high school graduation?

MERAKI: pouring oneself wholeheartedly into something and doing so with soul, creativity, and lovea Greek word that empties itself into the gaps of the English language. There is no English equivalent for meraki. It isnt in the disgustingly orange vocabulary books or tiny-print tone lists full of SAT words I should probably know. Meraki patiently sits on the tattered couches of our souls, waiting for that wanna hang out? text.

Amidst athletics, extracurriculars, AP classes and volunteering, many students leave behind Merakiwhat keeps us alive. Finding things we love to do and are passionate about completely changes how we live. When we put our entireor even a piece of ourselves into something, Meraki beams through our eyes, dances off our voices, and intertwines into our entire existence.

We hear Meraki resonating off every word in the voice of a high school sociology teacher who longs to provide desks for students he met in Kajo Keji, South Sudan.

We see Meraki waltz with every movement of our friend who dreams of dancing for the rest of her life in New York.

But also, Meraki doesnt always have to be founding a club to donate thousands to the unfortunate or finally moving to New York to pursue your dream of becoming a world famous dancer. Meraki doesn't always have to be Hollywood movie potential.

Meraki can lie in the abandoned crevices of our souls, the shadows of our joy cast by expectation and worry. I find my meraki gliding across printer paper whenever I use my favorite sharpie pen to draw flyers for school or just quotes that I wish to never forget. I hear my meraki in the shutter every time I capture light and life in the lens of my camera. I derive my meraki from the hypothetical volumes shaped by functions rotated about the x-axis.

These are more than small joys; they are grand beginnings towards a meaningful life.

So do not let the pressure to look good on paper and succeed socially and financially corner you. Excelling in academics and athletics is not our enemy. Our enemy is the pressure to be perfect. Stop looking for the perfect answerto the calculus problem, the tweet, the Macbeth essay, the Ivy League essay promptbecause more often than not, there isnt one. Life is a homework set with only even-numbered problems; you cant check to see if youre right by turning to the last few pages. Do not let the fear of making a mistake prevent you from appreciating the beauty of what is calculus, photography, dance, typography, educationlife.

Acknowledge your Merakis. Awaken them. Instead of a text, let curiosity and freedom be louder notifications than any ding, chirp, or ring.