It is often said that the teenage years are the best years of our lives. So, the desire to fulfill this ideology is much expected. Our lives revolve mostly around school, which is a positive thing to some extent, but there is a lot more to it. Apart from the usual literature and numbers, life comes with amazing opportunities and experiences, and it’s time to start living.

• Take Life Into a New Perspective- Figuring out what change you want is the first step towards making your life more exciting. Are you focusing all of your attention on school? Is your social life a part of your life you’d like to improve? Is there anything holding you back from doing the things you want to do? Some things are out of our control, so although you might want to change an aspect of your life, it may not go your way. This is no reason to stress, just continue exploring with other facets.

“I think it’s important to identify and reflect on the negative aspects in your life that could be changed in order to improve your life and make it more exciting. Personally, I try to challenge myself and take advantage of all new opportunities that are presented to me, hoping that they could make for new experiences,” senior Brandon Apagueno said.

• Change Things Up- We’ve all seen certain movies and said to ourselves, “I wish I could go out and do that.” Instead of lusting over it, make those moments happen! Nothing will happen if you stay stuck in your daily routine of Internet usage. Pick activities you’d enjoy because now is the time to start crossing off your bucket list! From going to concerts to driving around with friends or even learning a new skill, the list can be endless. Letting go of your monotonous schedule will surely help you feel the change in your life dynamics.

“You can’t live life carefree and on a whim. All of us have to do things we don’t want to do and sometimes it’s all we do, with barely a moment to catch our breaths. But in those brief moments we have for ourselves… those are the moments that can’t be wasted. Those are the seconds, the minutes, the hours and days we get to ourselves after a long week of school or at work. It’s easy to let those days slip by, doing nothing and just relaxing on the couch. If that’s what you want though, great, you’ve earned it. But those are the days and nights you need to make the most out of. It’s yours, and if what you really want to do is sleep, or skateboard, or party, or hangout with friends, or anything at all, that’s the day you do it. And it’s what makes the dull, day-in-day-out routine worth it in the end. Because later in life you’ll be talking to someone about your life, and you’ll look back on that day and you will remember it perfectly. Every detail, every aspect, every word you said and every action you did on that one day, you’ll remember it. And you will love it,” sophomore Josh Andino said.

• Surround Yourself with ‘Your Type’ of People- Good company makes the thrilling moments in your life even more memorable. The type of people you choose to experience memories with should be those who you connect well with. Hanging out with people that have common interests leads to enjoying whatever you are doing with them, from bungee jumping to simply listening to good music.

“When I’m with my friends, I’m the happiest I can be. I’m comfortable with them because they don’t judge me or make me feel like I have to change who I am to please them. I make the best memories with them, no matter what we’re doing. We have fun with each other and the greatest moments happen, even when we don’t plan things out and do whatever we want,” freshman Alexandra Andrade said.

Your life doesn’t need a 180 degree turn for you to have fun; it’s all about having a new point of view on how you do things. Ultimately, with a few modifications here and there, you’ll be able to better embrace your teenage years.