I leave for college in less than a week and I'm starting to work up an overwhelming amount of questions - where will I eat? Who will I eat with? And then the most daunting question, who will I be? I have the freedom to become any type of person I choose and that is both the most wonderful feeling, and the most intimidating. I started to think about it, though, and I realized that four years ago I was in the same boat. I was starting high school at a HUGE school and I asked myself every single one of those questions. I did figure out the answers over the course of my first year so here I am, transferring my knowledge to you. Here are five ways you can (and will) rock high school.
1. Try not to care what other people think:
This might be really hard to do at first, but the less you care what other people think of you, the better off you are going to be. High school is full of cliques and there's a great chance that not everyone or every clique will like you. That's perfectly okay, you're not obligated to be friends with everyone. If you slip and fall in the hallway, people are probably going to laugh at you (I know from experience). Just get up and laugh it off, don't make it the focus of your day, chances are everyone is going to forget soon enough anyway. Aim to be nice to everyone you meet because this will make people want to be friendly towards you and chances are, you won't end up at the center of the next rumor.
2. Be friendly with your teachers and take responsibility for your grades:
I cannot even begin to describe the impact certain teachers I've had have had on me. In high school, I met five of the best teachers I've ever had and their lessons were ones I take with me everyday outside the classroom. If you're fortunate enough to have a teacher or teachers like this, befriend them. Along with this tip, I encourage you to take responsibility for your grades - if you failed a test, you need to study harder next time. The test you failed is not your teacher's fault. If you're listening in class, attending tutoring and being friendly with your teachers it's going to be hard to fail the class. Put forward your best effort - it shows, and if you're struggling in your math class, chances are your math teacher is going to give you the .1 you need to pass their class, but only if you're respectful and you try your best.
3. Get involved with something - and stick with it:
You don't realize how important this is until you're applying for colleges your senior year. Colleges and institutions would much rather see a four year commitment to one organization than a semester long commitment to five different clubs your senior year. Joining clubs is also a great way to make friends that have similar interests as you, I met some of the coolest people ever in chorus and the reason our relationships work is because a lot of us are striving to reach the same goals. If you start a club as a freshman, odds are that by your senior year you'll play a large role in the organization and if you're planning on attending a college or university, this looks really good.
4. Don't wish it away:
Four years seems like a really long time to attend a school, but it's actually an incredibly short amount of time. The day of your graduation you're going to look around and wonder where all of the time went, and you're probably going to ask yourself if you got everything out of the experience you could. Go to the sporting events, attend the musicals and plays, go to the spelling bees and the awards nights. Don't sit at home and allow yourself to skip a lot of the things that make high school so great. College, work and the military is coming before you know it, so don't wish away your time in high school. This is a great time to begin figuring out who you are and who and what you want to be in the future.
5. Know your worth:
You're beautiful. You're a star and you're going to make something great of yourself regardless of whether you make an A in Honors Chemistry or a D. One grade doesn't define you and it certainly doesn't set the standard for the things you're going to accomplish in the future. You're going to feel like nothing more than a GPA or test score during your college application process, and though it's incredibly frustrating, stressful and consuming, keep in mind that the numbers on your transcript determine what schools you get into, not who you are. Don't ever let anyone tell you that's the case. Don't let the people you're in relationships with devalue you - if they don't respect you for who you are and what you want for yourself, it's time to find someone who does. The one thing you should take from this last tip is that you are so important, so worthy and so magnificent, and once you realize it, other people will too.
It seems cliche, but high school truly is what you make it. You have a clean slate and plenty of opportunities to decorate that slate with beautiful things. Good luck, take this advice and get ready to rock high school!
