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If you’re reading this, the chances are high school is definitely taking its toll on you in one way or another. Man, those years are hard. Honestly, I don’t know if you could even pay me to do it again. Although, I have to admit, those four years contributed to my personal growth more than anything else thus far in my 22 years. And for that, I am grateful.
High school is full of so many things that honestly don’t even exist outside of high school. The petty drama? Nope (if you find better friends after high school)! The lunch detentions? Nope! The gossip at the lockers and at the lunch table every day? Nope! The mean girls? Nope, nope, nope! As you walk across that stage during your high school graduation, wave goodbye to the things of the past. There truly is nothing quite like high school…
What’s More Important?
I know that it is so much easier said than done to wipe the negativity from our daily lives, but it truly is possible. My high school years, especially senior year, were far from easy. Sure, I had great friends, I was varsity cheerleading captain, had good grades, and was dating the star football and baseball player, but that is not what fulfills you. What you feel on the inside when you lay down at night is what is truly important, friend. You can be popular and you can have fun, but are you truly happy and putting yourself first?
Unfortunately for myself, these are things I wasn’t mindful of until my freshman year of college. I navigated through my high school years doing all I could to fit in, have fun, and try to be societies version of normal. However, I never felt truly fulfilled or truly happy. I learned that happiness truly does come from within. It’s never going to come from the clothes you wear, the car you drive, or hanging out with the most popular people. Sure, those things can bring smiles and happiness, but not the long-lasting happiness that I am talking about—not the happiness and peace that people can read across your face without you having said a word.
It Really is Worth it!
High school truly is some of the hardest years of life. It is filled with trials and tribulations, drama, and arguments. Being between those walls sometimes feels as though the world is crashing and burning. People are mean, social media is competitive, and life is hard! I know, friend.
But I have good news to share. The things you learn in those four years are going to shape you into an incredible person if you let them. Do not be defined by the mistakes you make or the drama that filled your life. High school truly is such a learning and growing experience. You may not take some of those friends with you after your four years in high school, but you will certainly take the lessons they taught you. Make those four years and all of the hardships that came with it worthwhile! As you navigate the toughness of high school, keep your mind calm knowing you are being shaped into the young woman you are so quickly becoming.
Choose your Path
After you walk across the graduation stage, life as you know it changes for the better; you are suddenly free. People suddenly stop caring about who is dating who, the group messages slowly disappear, and your life really begins. Everything that happened during the four years inside those walls has led to the path you are on now. There are suddenly two ways in which you can go. You can go down the path in which you let past things haunt you, hurt you and continue consuming you, or you go down a brand new path. You veer right slightly away from what others are doing, and you find yourself on the path of finding yourself and putting yourself first.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I chose the second path and it absolutely changed my life. I am healed. I am whole. I am happy, and I have grown by leaps and bounds. Head up, friend, it gets so much better!
For more tips on how to make the most of your high school experience read about these 5 tips to help you survive high school.
