As most people would agree, high school has its ups and downs.
Throughout high school, you don’t yet realize what the world is like. You wait for the days when you can drive your own car and you can have a boyfriend without hiding it from your parents. You long for the freedom of moving out of your parent's house and doing anything you want without having to answer to anyone. You’re so in love with a guy you won’t remember in 10 years and you think you make plans with your best friend to move in together after you graduate college, plans that you will never follow through with. Hell, you might not even still talk to them in 5 years. You’ll have half the amount of friends you had in middle school, and you’ll have a job. Next thing you know, you’re driving your own car and exploring the world without your parents there to tell you not to do something. You’re going to the mall with your friends and driving yourself to and from work. You start ditching your homework to spend late nights with your friends. You only then begin to realize that the world is a bigger place. You think you have uncovered it all, then you realize you’re still discovering the world. You have lived in a small suburban town your whole life, you don’t know much but where the local CVS is and how to divide decimals (okay, maybe you don’t.) And sure, you will come to learn that the most valuable things you will learn from teachers aren’t history facts or finding the greatest common factor, you learn more about life and the world. Realize that drama doesn’t last forever. The kids in high school love it, but we both know you’re way past that.
Find things that make you happy (other than getting high). Find things that make other people happy, sometimes we find happiness through the smiles and laughing of others. Don’t depend on his dimples and the way he says your name, they will soon be gone. Instead, find more time for learning to do things on your own. Being alone is a sobering experience, you get to learn about yourself and why others do the things they do. Learn that you can and will be happy on your own. Begin to accept that not all people are homes, some are just vacation spots to make you happy in the moment. Nothing is a waste of time because you learn from just about every experience you go through. With hardship, comes wisdom. Talk to your mom more often, she cares more about you than you could ever know. Don’t tell your mom too much about boys, though, she hates knowing her little girl grew up. Go to the beach more, maybe every day of summer vacation. Work can only get you so far, build more experiences and connections to others.
This is the perfect time in your life to take in the sun and dance in the rain.
