​So Please…

High School: approximately four years, 1,460 days, 35,040 minutes. It seems as if the priority for many high school students has changed, and many spend most of their time making decisions as if high school needs to be the best 35,040 minutes of their life. In contrast, I have chosen to keep things in perspective, realizing that many greater experiences lie ahead. While it is no secret that high school can be incredible, full of memories that will last you a lifetime, it is also important to consider that many of our experiences during high school may not, and should not, feel this way. In fact, I have come to realize that every memory and experience doesn’t need to be one that will last a lifetime. Nobody is perfect, and high school shouldn’t be either. So please… do not allow high school to become the greatest four years of your life.
​A common trend many high school teenagers are currently facing is being in a race to experience things that others may wait much longer to do, all while documenting it on social media or attempting to gain the approval of others. The puzzling and yet concerning part of this race, is the lack of reward that is involved. Those that participate in this race seem to be living for someone besides themselves. From personal experience, staying true to yourself and sticking with what you believe in can be the most difficult, yet rewarding, part of high school. Unfortunately, this can lead to lonely Saturday nights and thoughts of insecurity. It is important to remember we are still growing, and high school is a pivotal point in our development. So please… do not feel the need to grow up too quickly and in the process, lose sight of who you truly are.
​     As Hannah Montana once taught us at a young age, everybody makes mistakes. While this motto has always seemed a bit cliche and rather irrelevant, I have come to embrace the importance of this concept as I have progressed through high school. These four years are structured as a time to makes mistakes, learn and grow from failure, and allow the process to prepare us for future success. High school is the ideal opportunity for failure. We are in a setting where we have time to heal and learn from our failures, which is an opportunity that comes with greater consequences as we grow older. In order to discover the most you can about yourself amidst these failures, it is important to become less affected by the opinions of others. For me personally, once I stopped focusing on others’ opinions of me, I became a much happier person. So please… remember failure is vital to future success.
​During all four years of high school, it is inevitable to think about the future and the sense of fear and anxiety that may come along with it. I am here to assure you that the thought of the future does not need to be daunting. Peaking in high school and taking the approach that everything must be experienced early in life means there is not much more to look forward to, and that is indeed scary. However, trusting the process of high school and avoiding the temptation to overvalue these experiences, will ensure a promising future after high school. So please… take this approach in high school, knowing the future is much more promising than the past.