There’s about a month left until I graduate and I can
honestly say I think I’m ready. In fact, I know I am. There’s a few things that
I must confess before I graduate and that is: 1 It’s been a rollercoaster ride
to get here and 2 I can’t believe that this is all happening.
I’m going to be writing a little blog entry on what school
and highschool was like for me but it’s going to take time and it’s definitely
not going to happen before graduation. I’ll promise I’ll write the good, the
bad, and the ugly. For right now though, I wanted to write a little “Highschool Survival List”. And trust me, I am no expert. Here are some little tips/things
to expect in highschool that I’ve learned – mostly the hard way.
1. Always stay true to who you are. I
heard this one about a million times but it was just something that I never
really thought about. Yes, I believed the statement to be true, but I never really
followed or practice the thought. Not enough anyway.
2. Peer pressure is good. Say what? Yes,
peer pressure is great actually! It’s realistic. There’s going to be friends
who tell you what it is you need to be doing to be accepted. The trick is to
not let it fall through and let it break that ‘wall’ of sense of wrong doing…
if that makes sense. Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs…. are all things, yes, my very
friends experimented with and half the time wanted to see me practice as well.
Of course I broke that ‘wall’ of wrong-doing more than once, but I knew that
peer pressure had helped me set my own boundaries and what my limits were going
to be for the future.
3. Don’t leave homework & studying until
the morning of. (Yes, I said morning of… not night of!). I can’t count the
number of times I thought I could cram a 2 month unit in my brain in less than
hour. Yes, it worked sometimes, but I knew I could do a good 10-20% better if
only I had studied… at least the night before ;) . Also, don’t use facebook as a reward for a 5 minute ‘skimmed the
page’. It never is a good idea and you’ll be on facebook for about triple the
amount of time you should have been studying.
4. Friends don’t care about you. True friends
do actually care how I’m feeling. But not all my friends actually want to hear
about how awful my day has been or why I’m pissed off at the world. Lay off,
find some rewind time and don’t let it bother
you that all you get is one word texts as a reply to your 3 paragraph
essay on why you’re feeling down. True friends will pick up their keys and come
visit you if you really do need someone – just be patient with yourself. Things
do come back together.
5. The teacher is not your problem. Yes,
perhaps they could have explained that question better, or translated a
confusing essay prompt that seems to be written in another language into English.
But it’s not like you bothered to ask when they initially written it on the
assignment sheet. I can’t tell you how many times I blamed the teacher when I
should have just been easily blamed myself and get on with what I had to do!
Blame game is not cool.
6. Do not take calculus 30 online. This.
Is. Just. Awful.
7. Have some compassion. Don’t laugh at
someone because everyone else is. Don’t be afraid to shut some people up too. I
can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten the nasty glares flashed back at me
when I told people to shut their fat mouths. Remember (and it sounds corny, but
it’s true!): Bullies hate to be called bullies. Don’t make stuff up about
friends you aren’t certain is true either. I can’t stress this one enough. Not
cool.
8. It’s okay not to know what you’re going to
do after you graduate. I didn’t choose something until October of my grade
twelve year. I still don’t know if it’s what I want to do!
9. Don’t tell secrets if you don’t want
anybody to know. It sounds self explanatory, but I have struggled with this
for a long time! It’s so easy to “be in the moment” and let loose of all those
stupid/crazy emotions but I can guarantee the next morning there’s going to be
people you didn’t even realize you knew asking you some questions.
10. Find someone to talk to. Which, yes,
sounds contradictory to the last point, but if you find the right person, it’s
very important. Don’t let them down by giving up on yourself. It has taken me a
long time to realize that, Hey, I’m pretty important to. There’s a reason for everything and everyone and I
truly do believe that everyone has a purpose.
11. Not having a boyfriend is okay. I didn’t
need one anyway… they are too much work!
12. Be rebellious – have some fun. Just
because you know you might get in trouble with your parents, doesn’t mean you
can’t break your curfew a few times. The trust will eventually form back.
Thanks mom and dad … :)
13. Find something you enjoy doing. Pick a
sport, do a hobby, do something. Live today like it’s your last day you’re
going to spend on YOURSELF. I say it’s okay to be selfish sometimes. This blog,
listening to music, going for drives, and some other things has made me sane
the last few years. Pick SOMETHING.
14. Only say you don’t have time to do
something when you actually don’t have time! There is nothing worse than
being caught in doing something you said you weren’t going to be doing and
never being able to earn that good reputation back. Tell people you don’t have
time when you actually don’t, and the trust will be built even stronger and
yes, you will be more respected because of it.
15. Be Happy. Stay Happy. I could add a million more tips/hints that have helped
me throughout my short years, but it won’t help if you are never going to be
satisfied. Bottom line: if you aren’t happy what you’re doing with your life,
do something different. If you aren’t happy with yourself, figure out who you
really are. If you don’t like where you’re at in life, be the change. You are
the only one who can do what you do, be who you are, and be the change you need
to have. So do it! It’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s not going to
happen on it’s own either. What are you waiting for? Today could be your last
day.
What are some things that you
would have added to this list? Leave a comment below.