Dear girl about to graduate high school,
I was once you. I was caught up in being so excited to leave my hometown. I longed for summer nights and counted down the days until I walked across the stage in front of my peers, neighbors, family and friends to accept my diploma. There's a lot of things I wish my 18-year-old self knew looking back. I can't go back and change things, but I can try to help you.
Firstly, take a deep breath next time you walk into your school and your first-period class. In fact, stop and take in every moment you walk into that classroom and the one for the class after that. Soon enough, you'll walk into the school and it won't be "yours" anymore. Eventually, even a few years down the road, you'll walk in and feel as if it's been centuries since you spent hours laughing at your friends' jokes, or bothering your teachers for fun during your free period.
The school you once thought of as your second home will fade into a memory of the past. Not only the classes and some of the things you learned, but some of your friends will also. When you graduate, whether you go to college or not, your friendships will change. You might think I'm crazy saying it, but I can promise you that in a year when you come back for a football game or a track meet, you won't be talking to the same people. You may only know how a handful of the people sitting on the stands next to you or the ones that are playing the game.
When you lose track of some of the people, it might not be your fault...other times it might be. Regardless, cherish the next few months you have with these people before you go on to the next part of your life. A chapter is ending and a new exciting book is about to change. As you prepare for your orientation for college, don't be afraid to be yourself. Your friends' hobbies that you used to be "interested" in are now things that you don't HAVE to do to have friends. You can join a new organization, find a new hobby, or even embrace something you've secretly liked all along.
As you prepare to walk through the halls of your high school for the last time as a student, THANK EVERYONE. Down the road, you may be sitting in the lecture hall praising your sophomore English teacher for teaching you something. Otherwise, you might be at a party and thanking your best friend for giving you advice on how to talk to a guy. Everyone you met at your high school has shaped you. Don't be angry at the people who were mean to you, because in a year they and you won't have a care about what the other is up to now.
Lastly, say everything to people you never thought you'd have the courage to. This may be your last chance. Embrace your last moments as a high schooler living under your parent's roof, because soon enough you'll be an adult. Smile a lot and give a lot of hugs, you never know when you'll be able to give someone another. Most of all: ENJOY IT. This only happens once.
Sincerely,
The College Version of Yourself
