High school years are either the best years of your life or the worst. For me, it was the latter.
Next to middle school, I hated it the most. It didn’t help that my school held about 3,000 students, 800 alone in my class. And I was new. So factor all of that into the equation and you get a pretty crappy four years.
Okay, let me backtrack.
It wasn’t all that horrible.
I had friends. I sat by people at lunch. I went to homecoming and the football games. I hung out with people and talked and got good grades. It was fun. It was fine.
But that was the thing, it was just that. Fine.
The one thing that TV shows display correctly is the high school persona. Everyone cares about everyone and if you don’t fit that mold then your ostracized out.
The one thing I remember from high school is the fact that I could never really be myself.
I love writing, and reading, and have never in my life gotten drunk before, and I enjoy being alone sometimes. I know all the words to Hamilton and love, Love, LOVE, to wake up early and drink coffee with my parents in the morning.
Not the typical high school material.
Whenever someone asked if I liked to read because I worked at Barnes and Noble's I would always shrug my shoulders and try to divert the conversation. I found essay writing fairly easy and favored doing a hundred of those if it meant I didn’t have to present or speak in front of the whole class.
Again, not normal behavior.
I was so happy to graduate in 2016. I didn’t shed one tear. I just hopped in my car and drove away, never seeing a single one of my classmates again.
Enter college.
While some people at college are still stuck in high school, a majority of the people aren’t. It isn't about the gossip or the cliques. At all.
Are you wearing pajamas to class? Cool. Maybe I’ll do that next time.
You had a breakdown in your car because you have three essays due and not enough money for a cup of coffee? Dude, me too!
You like to read and write? Whatever, that’s neat. You just do you.
College is literally just a huge sea of fish trying to fend for themselves in this bowl of adulting. We appreciate the ones with goals and aspirations and encourage the ones who have no idea what they are doing with their life. We are all in this together and no one is going to be judged here for their life choices.
It doesn’t matter if you are a party animal or a shy introvert because, in college, you’re all college students. Just trying to go one day at a time.
So if you are in high school, just dragging along, remember that college is right around the corner. That’s where you will meet your best friends, the ones you will have in your wedding. It’s the place where you’ll find yourself and discover new things.
High school is just high school.
College is where you thrive.
So hold on, you’re almost there. It’s worth the wait.