For those of us still in it, yikes. For those of you who have graduated, congrats. And for those of you who haven't entered yet, yikes again. High school is one of those where everyone says "what you put in is what you will get out," which is true but only to a certain extent.
I love being involved in as many things as possible. Unfortunately, this can become a problem when you find out that maybe you spread yourself a little too thin. There are many days where I would have 3+ club meetings during lunch in one day, all of which were mandatory, and I would have to pick and choose which ones were more important to me. This becomes more and more prevalent as you progress through each year of high school and slowly but surely, people begin to "burn out."
There are a couple connotations surrounding the term "burn out," but the most common one refers to "burn outs" of people who give up and become druggies. However, the other meaning of "burning out" is just running out of steam. Not caring. Moving on. High school can be very exciting at first but after four years, practically everyone is ready to move on and go on to bigger and better things.
That is okay.
Being done with high school and wanting to move on to bigger and better things such as college is perfectly normally. You used up high school for everything it had to offer and you're ready to break out into the real world. That should be a positive thing! People burn out not because they don't care, but because they simply lose interest. Having to wake up at 6:15 every day and go to school for 7 hours, come home and do homework for 6 more hours, go to bed, and repeat this 9 months out of the year can become boring rather quickly.
And before somebody comes with the "Well, get used to it. Welcome to the real world" comment, and I know you're out there, hear me out. Almost everyone is forced to go to high school because it is the law, but they also want to make a successful future for themselves. However, in the long term, hopefully, post college, you are doing something you want to be doing. You've spent the last 4+ years earning a degree in a field you chose to study in the hopes of becoming successful. Hopefully, post-college you will enjoy your career. Now, this obviously always isn't the case but if not, change it. And yes, it literally is that simple sometimes. If you're not happy with your life or job, then change it.
My aunt told me something that will stick with me forever. "Do what you want and do what makes you happy, not what you think will make others happy. Do what you love, and the money will follow. There's always a way to make it work, you just have to be brave enough to try."
So the next time somebody tries telling you being "burned out" is a negative thing, tell them that they best has yet to come.
