Ever heard the saying, "high school will be the best years of your life"? Well, while that may be true, there are also those gray areas that people don't tell you about. The struggle to get work done, friendship drama, passing away of a parent and other things. Regardless of your social standing or personal problems, high school taught us lessons that we should value. While we probably didn't realize it then, looking back on it.. here's what I think we all learned quite well.

1. You don't always have to go with the flow.

Just because your friends party and drink, does that mean you have to? Absolutely not. If you're not comfortable doing something, don't do it. People who really care about you won't care and will still like you.

2. Not everyone is your friend.

You may know everyone, and say "hi!" to them in the halls, but truth be told, most of those people don't really care about you or care to be friends with you.

3. Everybody talks.

Lets be real, here. Gossip in high school is impossible to escape. No one can resist a juicy story and some people can't resist exaggerating them to a whole other level. But, regardless, you shouldn't let it bother you as long as you know the truth.

4. Change is inevitable.

We walked into high school as babies, really. You didn't expect to stay that way forever, did you? But, like all babies, we had to grow up sometime and we did. High school is a place for change, a place to grow and find who we are. All things change and we shouldn't fight that.

5. Honesty is the best policy.

There comes a point where it becomes better to be honest and upfront with people. We shouldn't sugar coat things or lie because we think it's going to hurt someone, honestly, we are getting to an age where lying is just plain-old-childish.

6. Friendships will end.

Sure, you meet this awesome person and instantly, you two click. You think "Wow, this friendship will never end". Wrong. Things change, people change, you won't get along or think the way you two used to. It won't feel the same. It's a hard thing to realize but friendships do end, and while it may hurt, it was probably for the best.

7. Your reputation won't matter after graduation.

People may know you as Ms.Popular or captain of the football team and drool over you in high school, but once you receive that diploma you're nothing to them. Hate to break it to ya, high school isn't forever and you won't keep your reputation. People move on, and so should you.

8. It's over in the blink of an eye.

You got that right. When you're a freshman, seniors will tell you that those next four years will fly by, and of course, we don't believe them. We were wrong because it really did feel like just yesterday, I was a freshman at my high school.