Dear High School Me,
I know you were scared to go to high school. It was a huge step - different teachers all day long, an amount of homework you had never seen (spoiler alert: college is even worse), and a lot of relationships were tested when you never thought they would be.
You're going to do a lot of stuff you're going to wish you could take back, and that's OK. If you didn't make those mistakes you wouldn't end up being you. Learn to forgive yourself and know that the hard times help you grow.
Realize you are going to graduate eventually. Sometimes high school feels like this never-ending experience. You will think who you are in high school is who you are going to be for the rest of your life, but just like anything else, high school ends. The football players who were hot and all that may go bald and have a beer gut in a year. You will look back and realize you didn't know half as much as you thought you did.
Don't you dare spend more than $100 on your prom dress, or try to make your mom buy one that costs much more than that. Prom is literally three hours. While you should feel beautiful, you don't need to take out a loan on a dress you are only going to wear for one night. Save your money and buy a nice laptop or something that will actually help you in the future
Stop putting so much pressure on yourself to be perfect. You're going to drive yourself into depression if you keep telling yourself you are not pretty enough or not smart enough. The main thing I want you to know is that you have to stop trying so hard to be what other people want you to be. You will never be anyone else's idea of perfect - it's impossible. You can either spend your whole life living for others or you can learn to love yourself for who you are.
Don't feel confident only because someone else told you, you look good today. Feel awesome because you knew you looked great before they said anything.
Stop putting so much time and energy into being in a relationship. Yeah, growing up with someone is great and you will help each other, but you also need to put yourself first. Stop living your life according to what you think another person wants you to be so they don't leave you. If you don't want to drink, then don't. If you want to stay in and watch movies, stay in. You don't have to do everything that person does; you are different people. Stop changing who you are for someone else.
You're so young, you have no reason to be afraid of dying alone and clinging on to any relationship as a result of that fear. Accept the person who is in front of you for who they are, not for who you want them to be. Just as this person should accept you for who you are. The second that acceptance fades on either end, you need to jump ship. Realize that a lot of times high school relationships don't work out. That's OK. You will survive the heartache, but you can better prepare yourself by making sure you focus on your wants, needs, and dreams.
Everyone seems to think the friends you make in high school will be your best friends forever. But chances are when you're not obligated to see people five days a week, you will begin to drift apart. This isn't to say you can't still be friends with people from your high school, it just means that unless both sides of the friendship put in a continuous effort, there won't be a friendship for long.
A lot of people tend to tell you, you will never see anyone from high school again. That's a lie. Every time you go to the mall in your hometown, or take a quick trip to ShopRite, you will see someone you graduated with. These people don't just disappear.
Going away to college doesn't solve all your problems. You may think moving out or moving away from people you don't like will rid your life of every problem you've ever had. News flash: you will come home some weekends and during breaks, and those places haunted by old memories will still be there. Those people you didn't like will still be lurking around town. Your problems don't go away unless you do something about them. Don't think of college as an escape, use it as a time to learn about yourself and grow as an individual.
Work hard to get good grades so you can get as many scholarships as possible, but don't beat yourself if your GPA isn't exactly where you want it. Grades are important and scholarships can be extremely helpful, but you are more than a number.
Join clubs and do things that make you happy, not because you think it will look good on your college application. When you look back you're not going to wish you were the president of more clubs, you're going to wish you enjoyed yourself more. There are a lot of opportunities in high school and you should only want to take them because they will make you feel fulfilled.
High school probably won't be the best four years of your life, but why would you want it to be? You're going to graduate college some day and get your first real job. You're going to fall in love all over again, maybe even more than once. You're going to get married and adopt puppies and have children. High school is a time for growth and a time to try to figure out who you are while covering up your acne. No one expects you to have your life together, so stop feeling like you should. Remember, you're a work in progress, and enjoy the ride as much as you can.
Love,
Future You
