Honestly, I hated my first year of high school in retrospect. I tried so hard being cool that I hung out with the wrong crowd, even though I was the biggest dork coming into HS. I tried too hard to get a girl, and God I was pretty cringy.
I did like the last two years though, I became far more true to myself and gained my self identity after coming to terms of who I was. I feel that's the true HS experience, finding who you are before you set off into the real world. Because by the time you leave, you're most likely an adult.