Adorned in green and gold and waiting for my maturity voucher, I listened for someone to shout “CUT! Ok folks we’re done for the day, all you extras can go home now. Put the gowns back in the dressing room, please.”

But the director never emerged and the scene didn’t end. I wasn’t being used to craft the finale of a teen dramedy in a poorly casted movie.

Unflattering, four-sided caps and sappy congrats cards galore, it was actually happening. With the flip of a tassel, Part I of My Life’s Story was officially over. Sadness was felt in my heart but also a feeling of excite for what’s to come.

In looking back I believe there is no such thing as “no regrets.” Encouraging someone to live with no regrets is a pointless venture. It’s like encouraging a senior citizen to not hoard food from local bingo tournaments. The occurrence is inevitable. Aiming for no regrets would be logical if I was hoping to live a mistake-free life, but I don’t think that’s a game worth playing.

The thing about high school is that everyone is always trying. Trying to be nice, trying to be smart and of course, trying to be liked. Everybody’s so busy with their trying that pushing pause for a moment to think seems unfeasible.

Somehow if we manage to be nice, smart and well-liked, we will be living in the epitome of all that’s golden.

In the dawn of my high school years, I regret not considering that perhaps life is golden without all the trying. Aren’t we all just shamefully passionate, confused, attention-hungry freaks? Maybe that’s enough?

Looking back, it was fun and looking ahead I will see what it has to offer.

Teen Talk is a column written by local teenagers. Jesse Ewing-Frable graduated from Redmond High School June 15.