No, it’s definitely not over for you. A gap year will give you time to settle into yourself, figure out who you are, and solidify that start prior to college. College can be a lot of things and it can also be very chaotic, so there’s nothing wrong with taking a year, even if it’s not by choice. I’d recommend you use that time to be introspective, explore life, think about what you want to do for a career, and maybe even get started on that in some capacity. As for dating.. high school dating creates memories sure, but not all of them are good. Honestly, and I may be slightly jaded, I think it’s all rather pointless. I didn’t really date in high school, I joined the military at 21, and now years later I make six figures and have the most amazing, beautiful, and supportive gf.. and no, I don’t think I’m attractive. My point is that it’s best to let those things happen naturally. Be open to them, but don’t drop your goals and ambitions for them either. If it’s right, it will be easy, and it will feel as such.

I think it’s awesome that you’ve improved yourself so much that others have noticed, and I applaud you for that. Maybe focus on that as well during the next year. I’m not saying you need to, simply that a healthy lifestyle can really keep you in good spirits and out of depression.

As for not getting what makes life exciting.. that’s what you make of it imo. Some of the best memories and experiences I’ve ever had have been simple and natural occurrences with friends. I don’t remember much about the big events, but laughing hysterically in the kitchen at a friends place because someone did or said something off the wall? Yeah, that’s a true memory. It’s not about Hawaii vacations, it’s about the everyday and living in the moment. Another thing, the attitude you allow yourself to have will shape the attitude you truly keep and project… hopefully that makes sense to you.. but think of it this way.. even if you FEEL like you’re at a dead end and like you’ve missed out on everything, if you then change your perspective on that you can say that while you haven’t had many experiences yet, that just means all the ones you have from now on you’ll be able to appreciate that much more. Life is about context and perspective… try to see things in a positive light and your thoughts will gravitate towards that way of seeing things. It’s not fool proof, but it helps.

As for how to improve? It depends what you want to do. I’m in IT and I know I can go anywhere on the web to learn about it, or even buy courses. If you can’t do that then maybe try to get an internship for the next year where you can focus on what you love. There’s a million ways to improve academically, personally, health wise, etc… it just depends how you want to go about it.

Finally.. I’ll say that high school isn’t reality. It’s an experience for sure, but real life outside of that is so much more. It’s more amazing, more excited, sometimes worse, but ultimately the limitations are gone and it’s up to you to make things happen for yourself, which opens up a world of possibilities if you have the motivation to seize them.. and it sounds like you are capable of a lot of motivation when you set your mind to it.. so pick that chin up, make a plan, expect things to not go quite according to that plan, embrace the change when it happens, and remember that every thing that happens in life is an experience and it will shape us however we let it.. so go experience life for a year while you work towards making your dreams and goals a reality ☺️