Growing up, everybody whispered in your ear, “enjoy high school, it’s the best four years of your life”. Now as you look back and reflect, you can’t help but point out how terribly wrong they were. High school did not only teach you geometry, history, and science but it also taught you some of the most raw, painful life lessons that you will ever know.

What they didn’t let you in on was that the people you start high school with will most certainly not be the people you end high school with. People are selfish and they only want to be there for the good times, never the bad. They didn’t tell you that the only true people you can lean on is your family. Most likely your mom because she is brave and selfless. She would be the only person who without fail, never let you down, never talked behind your back, and never spread your secrets.They didn’t tell you that people will try to break you down to the smallest version of yourself in order to try and make themselves feel worthy.

They didn't warn you to never wear your heart on your sleeve because like animals, people prey on the weak.

They told you that you would laugh, that you would make irreplaceable friends, that you would finally find yourself. They were so completely wrong because now that your in your final year, you have never felt so completely lost.

They didn't warn you about the venomous girls who pretended to be your friend. They didn't warn you about the girl who would be your best friend only to turn on you and make up lies. And of course everyone would believe her because she was supposed to know you. After all you were "best friends." They most certainly didn't tell you how much everybody cared about the grades you got and how if you excelled at school, it was an automatic failed friendship.

Nobody ever told you about the boy who would pretend that he was your savior and protector. The boy that promised he would stick by your side through all the trying, tough times. They didn't tell you that if you didn't like him in the same romantic way that he liked you, he would leave you quicker than all the rest. Because just being friends is just so crazy and unnatrual, right?

They didn't tell you that they would talk about you so much, that your reputation would make someones mind up about you before they even met you.

They never brought up the fact that it would be the most insecure four years of your life. You would tear through your closet for hours looking for the perfect outfit, with the perfect shoes, and don't you even dare to forget about the perfect hair and makeup to match because god forbid you have just one flaw. You would go through all this trouble just to overthink it and end up in the same outfit you started out with, too afraid to be bold and beautiful.

Throughout all of the gossip, the lies, the heartbreak and the inconsolable nights, you did find one thing in yourself. You found your strength. Something they didn't tell you you'd find. Because in the end, everything that happened to you in high school, made you who you'd be when you were ready to face the real world. When you left the childish games in the small town, you would find that everything they said, everything they did, was so minuscule and so unimportant that you would be ready to face life with your head high and your heart beating louder and more passionately than ever.

Now that you have your rearview mirrors cleared, you see it. You see that all the pain and all the hurt, was worth it. The not knowing made you strong. You learned lessons the hard way, first hand. Its what made you independent, diligent and unbreakable. No matter how many times they shattered you into pieces, you put yourself back together.