Ah, High school. It’s the most challenging adjustment most teens will go through, and some days, it is a curse to live in. Looking back, I see it clearly now, in the spring of my senior year. I can see both my mistakes and my achievements, all the things I wish I could change, and the things I wish I hadn’t changed about my past self. I see the awkward stage of finding who you are, to blossoming, being unconditionally you. High school will defeat you if you let it. This article is to my past self, and any student who has yet to find out who they are.
My first day of High School I cried, begging not to go; my last first day I cried, not wanting my childhood to end. Differences in life and perspective is a big change in High School. You will be your happiest and saddest self. You cannot let the influx in emotions cause you to shut down. When things are happy and when things are sad, always keep carrying through.
You do not have to take the bullying, and part of growing up is learning that there are people who will not judge you for the things you are passionate about. High school can be a toxic place, and the more you care about what everyone says, the more you will not be happy with yourself. Finding your place will be hard, but once you are there in your place surrounded by your people you will never want to leave.
Always improve in some way, because there is always room for improvement. Improve something you’re passionate about, like your grades, your skills in an extracurricular activity, or how you treat others. Just find something to change for the better. Knowing you are not perfect, and understanding that others are equally imperfect as you are is a big factor in having happiness in High School. You and others will mess up, so learn from it instead of running from it.
Freshman year I felt so lonely and misunderstood. I then found ways to feel fulfilled. People can tell your heart, and they will want to run with it if you are willing to put it out there. You are able to be loved; you just have to be willing to let others love you.
Don’t be stuck in your own mindset that high school is lame and that it’s worthless. Turns out, it is only worthless if you decide not to learn anything from it. School is not just about educational growth; it is about emotional and social growth as well. If you only learn one aspect of the impact it could have you are missing out.
Find yourself, and learn to love yourself. Work to make yourself the best version of yourself that you can be, and don’t blink–high school goes by so quickly.
