Hey there, little me. I've come to give you a few pointers and lessons everyone should have. Who knows? One of these days you may need to pass these lessons along to someone else, so it's best you pay attention. There just my top five rules that I wish I'd known just a tad earlier.
1. That boy is not the highlight of your high school journey
Sure, he'll say cute things and kiss you in the halls and slide the occasional love note into your locker, but he's not your life support. The first time he decides he changed his mind and wants to leave, let him. Your life will continue, and you'll keep on doing amazing things with, or without, him by your side. You'll end up getting published, you'll find your best friends, you'll paint your English teacher's classroom, and you'll graduate. And a majority of those things are accomplished by yourself with a hell of a lot of confidence.
2. Listen to Mom about the PSAT and SAT
Mom will probably try to talk you into taking the PSAT sophomore year of high school. Let her. I know, you'll probably whine and complain about how it only counts during junior year, but that practice round is what helps get your scores to where they ended up. Fun fact: when she tells you to take the SAT again senior year, listen to her. Your scores can only get better, and those schools land you some nice college acceptance letters. Speaking of college...
3. Starting at community college is not the end of the world
I know, you've got this huge plan to graduate high school and go straight to a fantastic four year college. But when Mom and Dad sit you down to tell you you need to start at community college, for the love of Godplease bite your tongue and don't argue. Turns out, you're actually going to kind of love it there. You'll take some interesting classes, meet some pretty cool people, and you'll get all your prerequisite courses out of the way (not to mention you'll save some money).
4. Friends will leave, and you will live
Unfortunately, not all your friends will always be around. Some may move, some may go out of state for college, and some may just decide to call it quits on the friendship. Forget them. Focus on the people that do stick around and encourage your goals. But don't forget to return the favor; make sure you're there for them when needed and make sure you let them know they're goals are valid as well.
5. Take time to breathe
Life will overwhelm you sometimes. Whether it's with amazing opportunities, or with the price of next semester's textbooks (oh yeah, books stop being free once you hit college, but that's why they invented Chegg), you'll be hit with quite a few surprises. Make sure you breathe though, and don't freak yourself out. There is nothing life can throw that you can't handle. And if you ever start to feel it's all too much, you have a phone; reach out to those friends I mentioned before, the ones who have your back no matter what because they believe in you as much as (if not more than) you believe in yourself.
That's it, for now, for my words of wisdom. Just always remember them, and remember you're going to grow up and do some pretty remarkable things. You'll have the chance to pass these lessons on to those who need them, and I urge you to take that chance. I want you to be able to look back on life and smile, not feel regret over things you should have done.
From,
An older (and wiser) you