So, you, or someone you know, just graduated high school.
And here I am: a one-year college survivor. Do I have any wisdom to share? I wish I could call it wisdom. Actually, I wish there was a formula for a painless transition your high school had the courtesy of slipping into your diploma. Instead, we all came out able to sing the quadratic formula and know that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell — not that that’s not extremely valuable information. But how do you move on — and move out?
For me, graduating high school was the greatest day of my young life. As far as I was concerned, it had been too long coming — I was ready to leave that place before I even knew the date of the ceremony when I actually got to it. While I was beyond excited to leave high school behind, the reality is that a great uncertainty looms in front of all graduates, and I shared that. Suddenly you’re facing the biggest change of your life, and that’s scary!
Let me tell you now, your saving grace will be to go forth with confidence. That might feel like the last tool you have right now, but faking it till you make it is also a totally acceptable strategy. You don’t know who you’re going to become yet, but that’s how it’s supposed to be! What you do know and have control over is who you are. It might feel incomplete right now, but you definitely have some guns to stick to. I didn’t know who I was going to become in college, but I did know I did not want it to be the person I was in high school. I wanted to leave behind the girl who didn’t like herself or feel liked by those around her. A newly self-confident mentality, although a work in progress, is definitely paying off. But that’s how things should be at this stage — a process, sometimes imperfect, but that’s helping you grow. Don’t doubt yourself for a second!
I only have one other concrete piece of advice, and that is not to rush. The best experiences are coming your way, but they’re always going to be the ones you didn’t try to create. So many new things are going to unfold in front of you as you move forward! Don’t waste time orchestrating some lofty occurrence when you can just sit back and enjoy the moments handed to you. This one was a hard lesson me to learn — I’m a planner, and there were too many weekends and too much free time in college that fell flat to my expectations because I was too busy force-planning how to make it great instead of enjoying the ride. The best memories I have from the past year are nights that didn’t go as expected, surprise plans acted out on a whim, and times when I said, “screw it,” deviated from my routine, and tried something new. With safety in mind, of course, I recommend that. Don’t rush through checkpoints — experience the fun!
Above all, please enjoy yourself. Enjoy who you are right now. Enjoy where you are in your life. You’re young, and the world is, as they say, your oyster. I know some people said high school would be the best four years of their life, but honestly I think they were lying through their teeth. The ones after — the ones now — are the best. Notice that. Worry a little, but enjoy a lot more. I know it doesn’t seem like it every day, and maybe right now in these early weeks of June it seems like it a lot less, but you’re all going to be just fine. All you can do is be true to yourself and have a little fun! If only they taught you that in high school.
