High school is a time to be young and crazy. High school is a time to be goofy and silly. And high school is a time to do anything you want, be anyone you want, and make lifelong friends. I could talk about my love for my high school until I am blue in the face (which I do on the regular) because of my wonderful friends and amazing teachers I had at the school. However, looking back, I do have regrets, and I had things I wished I had known back then.
1. You are not "too cool" for anything.
Go to the football game, go on the retreat your friend invited you to, go on a scavenger hunt with your friends. Say yes to everything, because you are not too cool for it. In a blink of an eye, high school will be over and you will regret not going to the cold Friday watching football games and you will miss being able to run around the mall with your friends.
2. Do not use your mom as an excuse.
I know we all do it: “My mom said I can’t go.” Even your friends know you're lying, but you can’t argue with a mother right? But when you go to college, your mom is not going to be a valid excuse, and you are going to have to say no, so learn to do it now.
3. Go to church with your family every Sunday.
You might want to play hooky and say you are sick, you might beg your parents you cannot go because you have a test, but you are going to miss it in college. Go to church with your family, give thanks to God, and then enjoy Sunday with your family because in college you do not get that luxury.
4. Your body is perfect the way it is.
If you want to eat that extra cookie, do it. If you want to run a mile after you eat the cookie, do that too, but do not feel obligated to. Do not care about what your mom, your friends, or the boy you like thinks about your body. It is your body and it is beautiful whether you have a flat stomach, curves, or a thigh gap, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
5. The boy you are crying about will not matter in a few years.
Take your years in high school to find solid friends who will stay with you through college and after, not finding a boy you will date for five minutes. Use this time to find your best friends, not your husband; you will have time for that later in life.
6. Respect your high school teachers.
Do not yell at them, do not be rude to them, and do not complain about them. They are preparing you for college, and they are going to be the only teachers who care about you. They love you, and their job is to help you succeed. In college, the professors don’t care as much, and you will miss your high school teachers dearly.
7. Join as many clubs as you can.
You like robotics, but people think it’s nerdy? Join the robotics club anyway. You like to play sports, but you suck at them? Join the intramurals club anyway. High school is the time to find out what you like and it is the time to join as many clubs as you want because you have time too. In college, you won’t have time, and you are going to miss those clubs and regret the clubs you didn’t join.
8. Go to every high school function.
High school is full of so many fun events, and in high school we take them for granted. Go to the soccer game even though its zero degrees and you have a test tomorrow, paint you face and support your volleyball team, awkwardly ask a guy to dance and go to homecoming or prom. In college, it’s not that easy to go to things and you regret the games, the dances, and the fun events your high school held.
9. Be yourself.
I know in high school it’s hard to be yourself. You feel pressured to be smart, athletic, talented, nice, and beautiful, yet you don’t even like sports and you know you are horrible at math. Now is the time to be you and not worry about what others think. When you go to college and realize everyone is the same no matter if a person was in the band or prom queen, you are going to regret it.
10. Be in high school.
Don’t act like you’re in college, because you are not. Don’t get drunk every weekend because you think it’s cool, because it’s not. Don’t hookup with every boy you meet because you want to have a story to tell your friends because no one cares. High school is the time to run around the mall, drive to Taco Bell late at night, and goofing around with your friends without a care in the world. You will get to college when you get to college, but for now be in high school and enjoy it. Enjoy your mom’s cooking, enjoy your own bed, and enjoy flirting with boys because when you reach college you’re going to miss when life was simple. You are going to miss not feeling pressured to drink, go out, have sex, and do drugs. In high school, there is no pressure, but if you grow up too fast, you will miss when you had the freedom to be a child without responsibilities.
