Waiting in Line - keys to helping yourself in highschool

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.