Whoever started the quote “High School is the best time of your life” obviously did not know what they were talking about. It is basically the opposite of High School Musical, sorry to break the news to you. Yes, high school can be fun, but it is not all that it is cracked up to be. Fun fact, I planned on being a teacher until I got to my freshman year and decided that teaching was not for me.
I graduated from Cheney High School in 2015 and now that I am out of it, the only thing I miss from high school are the football games. But high school definitely taught me some life lessons that I am glad to have learned.
Failing that test is not the end of the world:
I was never the best test taker; my SAT score can prove that. But, I still graduated from high school and got accepted into colleges even after failing my fair share of tests. That one test score does not define your life or definitely not your future. That one test score will not have your dream college deny you. My dream college was the University of Tennessee, and even with my not so good test scores, they still accepted me. Your life will go on, trust me.
Your best friend WILL choose her boyfriend over you:
Oh yes, the dating world in high school is a tough one. You will always think your best friend will still choose you over this new boy, but that will not be the case. I went through my fair share of heartache over a best friend choosing a boyfriend over me, but I grew to learn that is just how it goes. You will not really understand this until you get your own boyfriend and also choose them over your best friend. You just have to be there for each other when the relationship turns to heartbreak.
You are never “too cool” for your parents:
Even though you may feel “cool” in high school, you are really not. I mean you still have to ask for permission to go to the bathroom, so get over yourself. You need to still involve your parents in your life because they will want to be there – and for a good reason! You need to realize that you will never be too cool for your parents, especially in high school. Choose to watch Netflix with them instead of going out with friends every once in awhile.
Be involved:
Even if sports are not your thing, go to the sporting events. This is the one part of high school you will most likely miss. You will always remember the game winning touchdown at the homecoming game and going out for celebration burgers after the game with your friends. The one way to make high school most enjoyable is to go to school events and be involved in your community. Not only will you have more fun, it will look good on college applications if you apply yourself to more community events.
Do not get involved with the party scene:
This was a big one for me. I refused to get dragged into the party scene and it resulted in me seeing some of my friend’s true colors, which dramatically changed the relationship. Getting drunk or high every weekend is not how you should be spending your time. You are a teenager who should not be wasting your life getting involved in that toxic part of high school – do not even get me started on college. I feel like not a lot of people realize or maybe they just don’t care, but if you are caught drinking underage, you will have a record for the rest of your life. Now failing that test I talked about before may not affect your college acceptance, but having a record will definitely affect your college acceptance. Every time you fill out an application, you will have to state that you have a record. Now is that really worth it?
It is possible you may grow apart from your best friend:
I used to think my best friend was always going to be in my life, as close as ever. But that was not the case for me. I have grown apart from best friends throughout my time of high school and it was tough. There are two best friends in particular that I thought were always going to be there deeply rooted in my life, but now that is not really the case. This can be really hard; I still struggle with it today. But, it is not the end of the world. God will take somebody out of your life for a reason, whether you will find out the reason or not. You just have to trust God that He knows what He is doing.
Enjoy your senior year:
Senior year was by far my favorite year of high school. You are the top dog and you make sure everyone knows it. You get to finally go on that senior cruise everyone talks about and you get the best seats at the football games. I do not regret one thing from senior year and I firmly believe it is because I let myself enjoy every second of it. Go to every single school function this year because it will be your last chance. You will not be able to wear your letterman’s jacket anymore either, so make sure you wear that baby as much as you can.
One last thing is, do not be that person that is permanently stuck in high school, mentally or physically. Do not be that person that graduated but still goes and sits in the student section at games. And by all means, do not show up at high school dances after you graduate, we all had that one people when we were in high school do that, so do not become that person. Realize that your time is over, and you need to let other people live their lives in high school
So with that, I will leave you with a verse that I always leaned on throughout high school and I still do throughout my post high school life.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
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