Dear High School Me,
In these four years of your life, you are going to go through some pretty crazy highs and lows, ups and downs. You are going to go through your current version of rock bottom a couple of times, but you are also going to find that the rainbow comes right after the hurricane and you’re going to be really really happy. I promise. I know that it might seem like you don’t mean that much to your friends, or that no one pays enough attention to you to notice how sad you really are, or how you’re untalented because you happened to be best friends with someone who could win American Idol and won’t ever be good enough, or you’re undeserving of love because none of those losers had the balls to ask you out. You’re not. I promise you that you are not.
For a long time, you’re going to surround yourself with people who care more about themselves than your feelings and people who you think are saving you, but in actuality, are just numbing it for a while. You are going to feel so so lost and alone and you’re going to leave high school a little smarter, but with no idea who you are, or what you want or where you are going. But you also leave high school knowing who to keep around, who to part ways with, and most importantly, who will support you and make you feel loved and happy and wonderful all the time, even at your worst. College is going to open your eyes to who you are and what you’ll become and it’s so freaking exciting. I know you may not see a clear direction for yourself, but there is one. And spoiler alert: you won’t find it in the smallest town known to man that was your only world.
You see, everything that seems so big and so wild and so important in high school really isn’t. They’ll seem so huge and momentous and life-changing, but once they are over and your small world gets a bit bigger, those things just seem so trivial. Graduation and everything leading up to it is bittersweet because you will most likely never speak to the people that you grew up with again. And you’re right. You won’t. But it’s not like you particularly wanted to anyway. Because when you’re forced to step away and look at your life from an even further perspective, you realize that you don’t need everyone to like you- you only need the ones who matter. And the people who matter to you now will be so different in a year or two down the line. Just remember that high school is not your peak and it is not the most important part of your life and the people you consider family will be strangers within a year or two. Maybe that’s sad and maybe that’s a relief, but I promise that it’s okay and it’s exciting and it’s not as horrible as it probably sounds to you right now.
Know that there are people who will love you- that DO love you- and people in your future that will be worth meeting. Know that every experience you make will make for great stories someday, no matter if it’s sad, happy, funny, stupid, or embarrassing. And even though they will make you cringe, at least you know that you are an original and not just another vanilla human being. Enjoy not having to worry about majors and college or the future ahead of you or whether or not you’re behind on applications, labs, time management and drama. (Sorry, but that never goes away. Good news is you learn how to handle it infinitely better and end up on top.) Because once you hit first semester, these crises crash down on you at least once a week. Enjoy not being old enough yet, so your parents take care of everything for you and enjoy living in your own room while you can. Enjoy not having braces (sorry freshman year me… almost there!) Enjoy being a kid, actually a kid without having to worry about *dun dun dun* looming adulthood. You will be okay, even when you don’t think you’ll be. The best is always right around the corner. Always. Even if it’s a really long corner.
Love Always,
Me <3
