High school. It’s a part of life that you just have to go through. For some people it can be the most fulfilling and amazing three years of their life. On the other hand, it can also be full of ups and downs and things that you just don’t want to remember. I want to focus mainly on your mental health and the types of relationships you gain and lose during your high school experience. I know I went through a lot, and I feel that I should share some of my knowledge and insight with those of you who are entering high school. I’m even trying to see if these are the types of things people leaving high school can relate to.
As a result of much thought I have learned in the last three years of my high school experience that:
1.) I want high school to be over.
2.) Facebook was made for the popular people, and that it is not good for your emotional health. You are constantly worried about what everyone else is doing and who’s dating who, and spending so much time on Facebook that you’re not focusing on school!
3.) Some people are just better off with you.
4.) You are better off with some other people too.
5.) Everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING happens for a reason.
6.) Volunteer as much as you can because it’s more rewarding to know you’ve helped someone then sat around and done nothing. It also helps you know that you are contributing to society in more ways than other typical high school students. PLUS it looks great on University and scholarship applications.
7.) Girls are harder to get along with. Trust me the drama doesn’t end in high school.
8.) No matter what happens you are strong enough to get through any situation, and I mean anything!
9.) Don’t drink and drive, and I mean no matter what, do not let your friends get behind the wheel drunk, and certainly don’t do it yourself!
10.) Don’t do drugs, don’t even experiment, it’s not worth the effects on the chemicals in your brain. Doing drugs has also been said to contribute to getting mental illness over a long period of time.
11.) Avoid smoking; if you don’t start, you really don’t have to try quitting. Plus it affects your breaks at school because all you want to do is go out for a smoke. AND it’s bad for your body!
12.) If you want a relationship, have a relationship! Don’t go around and “test” the waters with 50 other people; choose one, settle down and if it doesn’t work try again.
13.) Not everyone is meant to have a high school sweetheart.
14.) Be UNIQUE! Trust me, I went through high school caring about what people thought about me. It’s not worth it. Some of you won’t realize this until grade 12 or even university. But it doesn’t matter what other people think. You have to be happy with yourself.
15.) Having a whole bunch of really close friends you can trust can be better sometimes then having a large group, when half that large group is gossiping about you behind your back.
16.) DON’T GOSSIP! Seriously guys, this is huge. You want to go through high school being liked for who you are then do not gossip about anyone else. It is not your place or your right.
17.) DON’T JUDGE! Think about it this way: You don’t know their life story, you don’t know what they have been through so why are you allowed to place judgment on them?
18.) Be real in everything you say and do. Let’s be honest here, no one likes the fake people. It’s easier to make friends if you show the real you!
19.) Your school counselor can turn out to be just the thing you need. If you need a quick fix or need someone to talk to and you don’t know the number to the Distress Centre Teen Line (264-TEEN), then go see the counselor. Sometimes you just need to talk.
20.) Create a close relationship with your teachers. Know what they expect from you in an assignment, and even buy them coffee once in a while!
21.) Most importantly above all else do not regret any single thing you do in high school. Everything happens for a reason and it is meant to be a learning experience!
You are SUPPOSED to be trying to find your true identity, your true friends, your beliefs and values, your goals, your careers, and what university you want to go to.
In the end, YOU dictate what your high school experience is like. Get involved in sports activities and extra circulars! Find time to be a good friend, a good girlfriend/boyfriend, a good student, a good daughter/son, and a role model.
The biggest thing I can share is that it all comes with time. You need to be able to find a balance in your own life. It’s part of growing up.
If you are just entering high school, the end does come trust me. If you are leaving, my advice would be to reflect. Reflect on yourself as a person and see your strengths! Take these into the next few years of your life!
Yes, high school is a roller coaster, but it’s how you see the ride, accept the ride and react to the ride that creates the outcome. Either you want to do it all over again, or you get sick of it and never want to relive it. Either way, you are learning something.
Share your thoughts on the high school (or junior high) experience below in the Comments section.
I have a couple issues with this list.
“ Facebook was made for popular people, and it is not good for you emotional health.”
This opinion indicates that Facebook is for the privileged and that you are not one of that group. Such self-exclusive thinking has repercussions on the way you view yourself. It seems to me that to hold the opposite view – that Facebook is for everyone, would be much better in terms of trying to maintain emotional health. To think that “I do not belong here” is not a good attitude.
“ Girls are harder to get along with.”
The propagation of sexism and gender roles doesn’t seem to be beneficial to emotional health either. Everybody is an individual, not to be classified and put under a label which determines if they’re easier to get along with or not. High School drama does occur and to be fair, due to pre-existing societal roles, among other things – girls tend to be the center it, but to make such a blanket statement about an entire gender is simply wrong. Is your goal to drive your reader away from making friendships with girls for fear they will damage their mental health?