You may think high school was the best four years of your life, but we beg to differ. There comes a time when you need to move on from high school. Here are the signs that you’re holding on to your high school years a little too tight and definitely too long.
1. The administration still knows who you are.
Of course most of your teachers are going to remember who you are (depending on if you were a front-row native or a back-of-the-room dweller), and it’s cool to stop in every once in a while to say hi and tell them about your life. Teachers live for that stuff because it makes their job that much more rewarding.
Having said that, if you graduated and yet somehow all the incoming freshmen know who you are, it might be time to reevaluate what you’re doing. The front desk should not be on a first-name basis with you when you sign in, asking how that new Pinterest recipe you wanted to try went. Or worse, the front desk should not know you so well that you don’t have to sign in. Come on, girl! You should be out having fun, not voluntarily reliving high school.
2. You’re still reppin’ your high school’s colors just about everywhere.
Just because you look good in your high school’s black and gold doesn’t mean it should be a permanent part of your wardrobe. That’s not a color palette for collegiette clothing; it’s the color scheme of a hallway full of lockers. We all have a million shirts from high school sports and clubs. And guess what? They make great rags, sleep shirts and workout clothes. They do not make for great fashion.
Your personal style should evolve with you, so don’t be “that girl” who only wears her old cheerleading competition T-shirts. Yeah, you made great memories in them, and of course you shelled out enough of your parent’s cash on tie-dyed school shirts to pay your Starbucks bill for a year, but it’s time to let go. Pass the shirts down to a little sis or cousin and know they will be loved by them—you can do it, we promise. You don’t want to end up on Hoarders: High School Memorabilia Edition.
3. You have programs from all the recent school plays and tickets from the football games.
Few things are better than losing yourself in the arts, and it’s cool to go back and support your school. But if you still think a bunch of teenagers singing in the auditorium is the epitome of theatre, we promise you there’s a great, big, beautiful world of the arts out there for you to explore! Because, let’s be honest, sitting through the spring concert was bad enough back in the day, even when it was an excuse for missing class. You could pick a show or event per year to pay homage to, but other than that, go see a movie or a professional play or even the latest Here Comes Honey Boo Boo episode, because it’s time to move on.
As for football, unless you’re from one of those towns where high school football is a way of life, do yourself a favor and don’t show up to every game decked out in face paint and screaming at the top of your lungs. It was cool when you were with all your peers watching your friends bound across the field. It’s not so cool when everyone around you is too young to know what Legends of the Hidden Temple is and they’re all taking turns getting drunk under the bleachers. You’re better than that!
4. You’re up-to-date on all the couples and frenemies from your classes.
Social media makes it super easy to play detective (or stalker) on all your former classmates, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should. You’re going to meet so many cool people in college, and there’s no reason to still dwell on all the “popular” kids and what they’re doing with their lives after graduation.
Sure, it’s fun to gossip with friends every once in a while, and nothing warrants quite as much shock value as finding out the innocent, quiet girl from your junior-year math class is now somehow tatted up and pregnant. However, seeing the Instagram of her sonogram does not warrant a text to everyone you know to talk about, “Oh my god, how crazy” it is. People change over time. It’s time you do, too, so just throw her Insta a like and carry on with your day. There are way better things to be up-to-date on than a comprehensive guide to all the gossip of your graduating class, even though we’re all occasionally guilty of it.
5. You’re still bragging about your high school accomplishments.
You can still be proud for totally killing it on the SATs or having an insane amount of varsity letters. But going around making it sound like you peaked at 18 years old is just depressing and so not cool. There’s not nearly enough room in your shoebox-sized dorm room for you to justify bringing up all those trophies and medals you acquired. Leave them at home and let your parents admire them while you’re away. They’re only going to collect dust anyway, and, let’s be honest, how often will you dust your dorm room? (Answer: Never.)
Stop talking about all the amazing things you achieved in high school and start setting out to accomplish even greater things in college! You should always be proud of what you’ve done, but there’s an even brighter future ahead of you.
6. You’re still raving about how amazing prom and senior week were.
Sure, Johnny and Kaitlin got that hotel room after prom and everyone was talking about it. And being away from home with no parental supervision for a week of drinking with friends was super cool. But, news flash: that is every day at college! If you go around constantly talking about how senior week was the greatest time of your life, you’re eventually going to get some serious stink-eye from your audience.
Those were the little leagues, and you have way cooler things ahead of you, so stop ostracizing yourself from all those cute college boys who are tired of hearing about how “ah-mazing” your prom dress was. Just Facebook-stalk yourself when you need a little reminder of how great you looked and much fun you had. Everyone you meet will have their own stories just like yours, so it’s time to start making some new memories!
7. You start way too many sentences with, “Back in high school…”
Everyone loves the occasional #tbt, but no one loves hearing you relive your glory days at (Insert Hometown Here) High. No one wants to hear about the prank you played in Mrs. Snyder’s class or that one time at band camp. But seriously, reminiscing with your old pals at a reunion is one thing, but not having anything better to talk about than your shenanigans from the ages of 14 to 18 is kinda lame, and by kinda we mean really, and by really we mean just don’t do it. Plus, all your new friends are going to have no idea who or what you’re talking about, which always results in polite pity nods and laughs.
Enjoy the now! Every once in a while when you’re feeling nostalgic, call up an old friend and catch up on life, maybe throwing in a few fond memories while you’re at it. However, rest assured that you’ll have a bunch of exciting new stories from college!
High school rocked, but when it’s time to move on, move on. Maybe pay an occasional visit and definitely keep in touch with your besties when you all move on to bigger and better things, but trust us when we say that life goes on. So go ahead and salute your alma mater as you drive by on your way to an even more amazing future. In other words…