High school is rough. Nobody ever tells you that when you're in eighth grade, and you're super excited to be moving on to a bigger school with even more people (and most importantly, your best friends). So here's some things I wish I had known in high school. Seriously, why did nobody warn me?
The friends you make now, will not be your friends forever.
High school friends are the best. You see them more times than you see your own family. They're there to gather around the lunch table and talk about that one teacher you all hate, and having a big friend group to hang out with by your locker before and after class was always fun. But by the time high school ends and you've all picked out your colleges, you go your separate ways and realize that you don't have the same interests.
Nothing you learn will "prepare you for the real world." (Except for showing up late or not showing up at all.).
High school doesn't prepare you to balance a checkbook or how to save money. You don't learn how to change a flat tire or stay organized. But once you get out into the "real world" your high school teachers are always talking about, you realize that these are pretty important life skills. What happens if you're stranded in the middle of nowhere with no cell service? Unfortunately, algebra and knowing what Nathaniel Hawthorne was talking about in "The Scarlet Letter" won't help you (however, it is a classic novel and you should have some knowledge of it).
Not everybody is doing it.
Chances are not everyone in high school is going to wild parties, staying out until 2 a.m. and dragging themselves up for class in the morning. I can't recall how many times I was upset that I missed some party where some dude got so drunk he threw up. Seriously, 90 percent of your friends are lying about the "crazy, wild night" they had and by not going and finishing up that essay, you didn't miss anything spectacular.
Don't stress over a relationship.
I wish someone would have told me this. Stressing over a relationship when you're 16 is stupid. I spent so much time worrying about a relationship that went nowhere that I missed a lot of cool opportunities to join clubs and hang out with friends. No relationship in high school is nearly important enough to disregard what you actually want to do in life.
College is rough.
Another thing I wish someone would have mentioned to me in high school. College is not for the faint of heart. It takes time, dedication and hours upon hours of tears. (Yes, you read that right. College is stressful.) College is not beer pong until 2 a.m. and making it to your 8 a.m. class looking put together (the movies are lies). College is staying up until 2 a.m. finishing an essay last minute, calculating how much sleep you can get and then dragging yourself up for class and hoping for the best. Someone should really have warned me about this when I was in high school.
Most importantly, have fun.
I wish my teachers would have said, enjoy your youth. It's actually important to have fun and something that I didn't learn until about my third year in college. Life isn't waking up, going to school and work, coming home, and spending all night studying in your room while your friends go out and actually live. Living is having experiences that turn into some of the best days (or nights) of your life. Going out to a concert with friends, learning a new instrument, and hanging out with friends until you all forget what time it is. That is living. Nobody teaches you that in high school. And they should. Because actually living and experiencing things is way better than sitting in your room every night, watching other peoples' lives on Facebook.
