Ever so slightly, the days are growing shorter. On some mornings, a slight coolness floats on the breeze. County fairs are popping up. All these things are sure signs that it’s August and, for many, school will soon be back in session.
When I look back on my younger years, I’m seized by equal parts nostalgia and gladness that I’m not that age anymore.
It’s taken me a few years to understand this, but I think high school, no matter what crowd you ran with or what you did in your free time, is tough. It’s easy for adults to dismiss some of the fears and anxieties kids have today, but why are they any less legitimate just because they’re from teenagers? Figuring out who you are, how you should spend your time, what you want to do after you graduate – these are all big ideas to grapple with. Ten years later, I’m still not sure of my answers to some of them.
I realize it’s easy to look back and think of what could have been, but the good thing about retrospect is that you can always start living by those ideas now. Without further ado, I present the three things I’d tell my high-school self that would have eased my mind a bit and helped me enjoy my time, short as it was, during those four years.
1. Don’t worry about other people. It’s a cliche, but it’s absolutely true – you spend far more time worrying about how you look, sound and act than anyone else. And no one else pays too much attention to these things about you because they’re all worrying about themselves. Being shy and anxious in high school didn’t help with this, but if I could go back, I’d tell myself that there were much more productive and peaceful ways to spend my time than living in fear of other people’s opinions.
2. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Of all the things I could change from high school, this is probably the biggest. High schoolers are busy – now more than ever – but I wish the free time I did have had been spent honing my skills at writing, learning more about future careers, or anything else that would have helped me understand the world better. Along with #1 above, doing these things didn’t seem cool – certainly no one else was doing them, right? But if I’d spent more time pursuing my passions and finding the things I loved to do, it would have been easier to pick these habits up again down the road.
3. Speak up. I lived in fear of a teacher calling on me in class or someone at youth group asking my opinion. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to say; it was that I (you know the drill) was afraid of what people would think of my idea. Even when I knew the answer or had a brainwave worth sharing, I kept it inside, sure it would sound stupid out loud. It was a terrible habit that followed me into college and is something I am continually working on even now. The best remedy I’ve found? Just start small. Saying anything at all is a good starting point. And I’ll never be someone who blurts out an answer without thinking, but I’ve also learned it’s a good thing – and often welcome – to do that. I strive for quality, not quantity.
High school is a great time to start building good habits for life, and while I’ve certainly improved on the items above, it’s still a work in progress. What advice would you have for your younger self? Share with me below!
bloom. 