Ah, high school.
Those two little words can evoke
several different emotions from different people. Anger. Pain.
Embarrassment. Or maybe you're one of the lucky ones and you actually
had a pleasant high school experience. (not me) There isn't an exact
science to getting through high school and some will manage better than
others, but here's a little bit of my advice to help you survive.
1.
Calm down. High school really isn't that big of a deal, but at the time
it will seem like the make it or break it point of your life. Teenagers
have a very temporary state of mind and a bad day can sometimes make
you feel like you have a bad life. High school isn't a race or a
contest. You don't win anything for being the most popular.
2.
Depending on where you live and how big your school is, freshmen might
be viewed a little differently. At my school, it didn't really matter if
you were a freshman or a junior. Appreciate the people in your class as
a freshman because you are all united by your knee knocking, shivering
like a chihuahua that needs to pee, "freshmeat" fear. Don't be afraid of
seniors. The difference between freshmen and seniors is priorities. The
priority of most seniors is to get ready for college or for whatever
career they will enter into after they graduate. So don't feel like they
hate you or will dump you in the garbage can, that doesn't happen.
3.
You will most likely have your heart broken at least once during your
high school career via rejection or ignorance of your affections. The
latter is how you respond to it.
Oh,
unrequited love. You will most likely be an emotional wreck on the
inside anyways. And that's okay. It's okay to feel and suffer and love
and lose. That's the only way you can make your life mean something. But
pick yourself up, brush yourself off and carry on, because the universe
won't explode just because you two aren't together.
The
truth is that high school is not the prime time for dating. This isn't
because teenagers are incapable of true love, but rather because
teenagers are in a time of their lives when they don't fully understand
who they are. It's hard to be in a relationship, and even more so if
you're not sure of who you are and who you want to be. Date carefully,
and don't feel like you have to because other people are. Your happiness
shouldn't solely depend on someone else. If you are only happy when
you're in a relationship, you're doing something wrong and need to step
back and prioritize.
4. Don't believe everything you
hear. Gossip is a problem that you will face not only in high school but
for the rest of your life, unfortunately. The meaning of a secret has
practically dissolved. People open their mouths on a whim but most of
the time have nothing to say.
Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you no one would believe it. -Unknown
5.
Remember that every person is different. You never know what you'll get
until you get to know the
person, and even then you may be only dog paddling on the surface. The
one thing we all have in common is that we want to be loved and
accepted. We want people to want us in their lives. We want that gold
star of approval that says "This person matters."
6.
Show respect. There is never an appropriate time to make someone feel
that they are worthless and a waste of space. You do not, I repeat do
not, have to accept bullying. It's true, you can't make everyone like
you and you can't make everyone a good person. But that doesn't mean
that you can't make the world a little bit better.
7. It's okay to get good grades. Really, it is. If there's anything I've
learned from my high school experience it's that the knowledge doesn't
always fall where you think it might. Too often people will hide their
intelligence because they are afraid of being called a geek, but believe
me, there are much worse things they can call you.
8.
Exercise your ability to be an individual. You do not have to hide your
personality because you are afraid. The only reason it's not cool for
you to be different is because you make it that way. If you are
confident in yourself, people will like you a lot more for that than
because you know what happened on last night's episode of the Jersey
Shore show. The people who are worthwhile will like you for you.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -Eleanor Roosevelt
9.
Chances are you will be invited to a party in high school. It's okay to
have fun, but be smart about it. Please don't drink and drive. You are
too young and too important to die because of a can of yeast fermented
malt flavored with hops.
10. Life can get better after high school if you make
it that way. The world is enormous, and contrary to
popular belief amongst the youth, it does not revolve around high
school.
This is all easier said than done, I know this
for a fact. It takes a lot of courage to be yourself. But once you
accept yourself and become proud of who you are, you will fall madly in
love with the possibility that you can do anything.
Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you. -Dr. Seuss
Written 10:20 PM by Unknown
