Back in sixth grade, during the peak of quarantine, I downloaded a game on Xbox called “No Man’s Sky,” a space exploration game where you can discover and explore billions of different planets across multiple galaxies. You can mine different minerals, create bases around your planet, and travel to a new planet to start all over again. The more you explore and learn about the universe, the more you can upgrade your ship, your multi-use tool, and find new outfits for your character to wear. It sounds simple on paper, and truly, it is that simple. But there was always something exciting about discovering new technologies across the galaxy, naming planets that you discovered, and creating new bases, even if you knew you probably were never going to return to them.

         I still remember the first planet that I spawned on. It was a snowy planet with copper and magnetised ferrite deposits that had actually already been discovered by another player before me. Naturally, as this was the first planet I played on and was still learning the ropes of the game, I spent a lot of time there. I built a small base in between two mountain ranges and named it Nevarra, after a different game series I was playing at that time. If I’m being honest, I probably spent more time on this planet than most players would spend on their first planet before deciding to find a new one. It was a mix of fear and attachment that prevented me from finding a new place. I had worked so hard on building Nevarra that I thought that I was never going to be able to make something as good as it. It wasn’t until I grew bored of the same snowy mountains that I decided it was time to board my spaceship and start a new adventure somewhere else. I didn’t travel far and landed on the next planet over. This time, I was able to name this new planet, as I was the first player to land on it. After I left that plane, I discovered another, and then another after that one. This helped me discover new technology that helped me upgrade my equipment, which made my No Man’s Sky experience even more fun.

         As the end of my high school career is quickly approaching, I find a lot of similarities between what comes next in my life and my experience playing No Man’s Sky. Just like the planet I spawned on that had already been discovered by another player, nothing I did in high school was revolutionary. I didn’t start a new club, earn a perfect ACT score, or set a school record in any extracurricular activity. In other words, everything I did in high school had already been done by someone else, and for four years, I never sought to change that. I never created anything new, but just expanded what I knew by joining extracurricular activities like journalism and debate.

         I see graduation as me leaving that snowy planet in search of discovery. As if maybe graduation is the ship that will lead me to a galaxy full of new opportunities. New beginnings, new people, and most importantly, a lifetime full of chances to make something new. Not every planet will have something exciting to see or something new to learn, and maybe sometimes there will not be enough fuel in the ship to make it to the next planet. But in those few and far planets where something is to be learned or something new is to be created, making the best of those chances will make your trip to the next planet much easier and fun.

         I don’t play the game anymore. I think I eventually outgrew it the same way I outgrew the idea that I had to stay on one planet for too long. What’s important is that it taught me how to move forward, even if I didn’t always know what it was I was heading into.