1. your middle school best friend, the
one you share all your laughs with and can't imagine not
being friends with, will only be a familiar face that you'll
share a smile with across the room during high school
graduation,
2. popularity doesn't matter. at all. be nice to everyone,
don't be stuck up in who you talk to, stay down to earth.
high school isn't just about climbingto the top and building
contacts. one day you're going to look back and wonder who
your true friends were and what motives others had in gaining
your friendship. take the time to get to know those you normally
wouldn't, and you'll be very surprised.
3. the loneliness you feel right now is not permanent. there will
be a moment, maybe months or years from now, where you feel this
overwhelming warmness, and you will look around at the people
surrounding you and think, "hey maybe all that sadness and
loneliness was worth getting to this point". and you will
smile and everything will be ok.
4. don't get sucked into the "i'm too cool to
study" phase. stop glorifying netflix, going to sleep late,
and barely getting your work done. find your motivation and
don't let anyone hold you back. there will be kids at school
who will love to brag "i didn't study for this
test" and "oh dude i stayed up till 1am last
night". i promise that doesn't make them cool or
bad áss. in fact, most people who
claim they haven't cracked a book open, have actually studied
more than you think. hold your own, be productive. you don't
want to look back on a test, a quarter, a semester, a year and
think "dámn, i wish i had done more".
give it your all and you will reap the
benefits.
5. don't lose your spontenanity --
don't get sucked into the same rigid routine. regularity is
great but you can't lose your spark. it will crush you, years
down the line, when you realize you've forgotten what
it's like to do something without overly planning it, without
worrying about homework, without a million other items on your
to-do list creeping into the back of your mind.
6. when you're having a shítty night, just go to sleep.
seriously turn your phone off, close the computer, and get into
bed. i promise that is the only solution.
7. when someone invites you to plans,
always say yes. even if you're exhausted, curled up watching
a movie in pajamas. even if you feel like you want some alone
time, or if you don't feel 100 percent comfortable in the
social situation (not in a dangerous way but a meeting new people
way) -- say yes. you won't regret the experiences.
8. make yourself painfully aware of the compartmentalized
characteristics and cookie-cutter personas you put on and that
others put on. be concious of the characters the media has
ingrained in our society, and remind yourself that being
"the cool girl" doesn't mean drinking beer and
eating burgers and letting guys step all over you so you can seem
chill. reading and writing doesn't make you "nerdy"
just like playing sports doesn't make you cool. these are
associations we have been taught by movie scripts and novels. you
don't have to be one thing or the other -- you can wake up
early one morning, make yourself a smoothie, and be that
"yoga" girl. then the next day you can stay out all
night and live recklessly. you don't have to feel like you
need to fit into a persona.
9. not everyone will like you, and that's okay. stop trying
to please everyone -- it's impossible. radiate confidence --
even if it's fake confidence, eventually it will become real.
once you can do this, you will be untouchable.
10. it's not weird to go places alone -- you don't always
need to find a friend to enjoy yourself. go for a walk, a bike
ride. read at a coffee shop, take yourself out to lunch, drive
somewhere interesting. don't spend your day in a big ole box
-- you are alive, you are full of life and energy and so much
potential. use it, move around, feel restless, and don't
settle for staying idle.
advice for high
schoolers