For many people, high school is just another four years. Usually, it's not super fun, it's tedious and you are so ready for the real world. I can't even name the countless times that I told myself just to hang on until things got better, or until graduation. It seemed like there was always something right around the corner that made me hang on just for one second, another day, week or hour.
"Just take this test so you can get a good grade and graduate."
I tried my best to make high school bearable for myself. I was a member of the color guard, I took classes I enjoyed, and I did my best to keep positive people in my life. I kept myself occupied the best that I could and I made it through. As someone on the other side, I can tell you that things get better after high school.
In high school, every day was a struggle. Especially my senior year when even more was going on in my personal life, I cried almost every day. There were days where nothing else existed. I was in my bed, crying, and that seemed to be the most dramatic and painful thing. Nothing else mattered, graduation was my light at the end of the tunnel. At the end of each day, I had English and my teacher would ask how I was doing. If I could report that I hadn't cried by noon, it was a good day. What helped me was knowing that in May I would walk across that stage and grab my diploma. To me, it meant almost nothing academically. Everyone went to high school. There was never a moment I thought I wouldn't graduate, but it was a trophy. I survived it. I earned that diploma by torturing myself in that building every day.
Now, 9 months after graduation, I am so much happier. Don't get me wrong, college is hard. I'm challenging myself in a lot of ways that I never imagined but I am not afraid to go to school. I'm not scared when I walk down the halls and I have significantly less anxiety in my everyday life. College has given me meaningful friends that I truly believe will last a lifetime. I look forward to every new day and dread when my senior friends graduate and things start to change.
Things do get better
