high school

I’ve thought of writing this for so long.

It’s been my dream to write for basically ever and I knew I wanted to start here… Summing up high school. But I was so scared to start… How does one sum up (what seems like) the happiest and saddest 3 years of their life. It also scared me because once I started, that meant that it was coming to an end. Crazy. 

I planned on posting this on the day of my graduation, but today the news came out that schools were canceled until the end of the year because of Covid-19. I might not even get a graduation soooo

What better time to post it than when it actually ended? Here we go…….

Going into high school was relieving. Junior high made high school seem like heaven. As scared as I was to go into it, I had no idea the lessons I would learn, the people I would meet, and the emotions I would feel through the new experience to come.

I have some advice to give, though, for those who have high school to look forward to, and for those no longer in high school- solely to remind you of the great experiences and lessons that come with high school. 

First… Let the emotion hit you.

It is almost impossible to not become so sad in these fragile, teenage years. It is so hard. The amount of times I found myself crying in bed at night is uncountable. The stress will overload you. Your parents will begin to bug you. You’re beginning to find yourself, and it’s difficult. But, as cheesy as it sounds, the sadness helps you feel real happiness.

You cannot have a rainbow without a little rain;)

While in high school I gained a source of ultimate happiness through watching sunsets and seeing pretty clouds/skies. I flooded my snapchat stories with pictures of all the pretty skies I witnessed (sorry to everyone I annoyed haha). For a while it was the only happiness I could truly feel, and I would soak up every ounce of happiness that I felt from every sunset and sunrise I saw.

But, since sunsets cannot last forever, sadness would creep back. I began soaking up the depression that would engulf me, and turned it into poetry and bad drawings (I am no artist haha). I would feel all my sadness and would dig deep to find the source of it, and then release it onto paper. 

Take your emotions and embrace them. 

Use them towards something you love. 

Cry every tear you need to cry and laugh at every stupid joke you need to laugh at. 

All the emotions you feel are good.

Second… FRIENDS!!!!!

I feel that it is so important to make SO many friends in high school. This doesn’t mean you have to lose the old ones. I have grown up with 3 amazing, beautiful, inspiring girls that I have known since I was 3. We had our struggles growing up, but in the end, it only brought us closer.

I will forever cherish dancing in the rain or on parking garages, our almost daily icecream runs, our movie nights, sneaking in and out of my window at 3 am (sorry mom and dad), stepping out of our comfort zones and experiencing new things together, racing to a good place to watch the sunset, the many photo shoots, the failed book clubs, our bad singing to our favorite songs on canyon drives, the spiritual moments, the pictures taken in every mirror we passed, random drives to park city, dying my hair every couple months, thrifting all the time, the deeps talks, our daily hugs, the facetime calls and endless snapchats, all the hot tub nights, the “love you more”’s, the laughing, the crying, and everything in between.

Without them, I have no idea how I would have made it through high school or where I would be. My rocks. 

But, making new friends is so important, too!!!!!!!!

I lost many friends coming into high school, but finding new friends is so much fun.

A lovely group of the cutest girls that I befriended brought me happiness DAILY! (I hope you know who you are;)) While passing any one of these girls in the hall at school would always come with a hello and a compliment. It would also always bring me instant happiness for the rest of the day. 

AH! and going on mini vacations/adventures was one of my favorite things to do in highschool! I met a group of friends sophomore year and ended up going to Bear Lake and Flaming Gorge with them my senior year, and had THE. BEST. TIME.

Making memories with tons of different people is the way to go. 

Oh! Also, the summer before senior year I started taking film pictures. After developing them, the memories flood back and the pictures are so pure and in the moment. The best decision I made was to buy that first camera. TRY NEW THINGS!! 

Remember MEMORIES ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN GRADES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lastly… Love everyone and love life. 

Something I came to realize my senior year is that everyone is going through something.

No matter how close you are to a person you have no idea what is happening in their head.

You have no idea their daily struggles.

And they have no idea what you’re going through.

Going into high school I was a really judgemental person (and as hard as it is to admit, I was pretty mean on the lowkey). This breaks my heart because it is never our place to judge. And this is why it is so important to LOVE EVERYONE. Whether that is a simple comment on their Instagram post, a hi in the hallway, complimenting their outfit, finding them in a crowded hall when they seem lost. Once I started to realize this, it was so cool to see how my perception of these people changed.

If they have a smile on their face, then a smile somehow makes its way onto yours. You begin to see the achievements they make, and it makes you happy for them. You begin to stop comparing yourself to others, because instead you are happy for them. 

The moment you stop worrying about why you aren’t good enough, why you aren’t as happy as the ones around you, why you don’t do as good in school, why you’re not as tan, etc. you’ll be so much happier. And it’s hard to get to, but it’s a weight lifted.

In my opinion, it’s the only way people should go through high school. 

Live life. Love high school. It may seem like the worst time of your life, but you’ll be sad when it’s over. My senior year was cut 2 months short. Like most of the class of 2020, I don’t get my senior prom, I don’t get to walk at my graduation, I don’t get senior week or the last 2 months of going to school with all my friends. I don’t get to go to the baseball and lacrosse and soccer games. I don’t get to have yearbook signing. It was taken from us. That being said, to everyone still in high school, PLEASE LIVE IT UP. You never know when it will end.

So…

Go to all the games and go all out. 

Go to the dances. 

Hang out with your friends, even when you have homework. 

Don’t worry about the future and live in the NOW. 

Skip class.

Fall in love with life. 

Let your heart get broken. 

Don’t let yourself stay in toxic situations. 

Break the rules.

Better yourself and your life. 

Love those around you. 

Learn from the lessons life gives you. 

Find happiness.

Stop overthinking.

Have fun.

Let go and live life!

That’s my advice.