First of all, don't worry so much. You're doing alright. A lot of people say high school is the best, but it's okay that you don't feel that way. Just keep having fun, and know that the best is yet to come. Chill out.
As for grades? Well, those really are as important as you think. But you also don't have to get a 6.9999 GPA. You can miss an assignment or two if it means going to sleep now and not getting sick for the next two weeks. Oh, and AP Physics? Who were you kidding with that one? Stick to English, girl.
I would tell you to stop procrastinating, but you'll still be doing that when you're 27, so forget it.
Cherish your friends, and spend time with the right people for the right reasons. These folks might not be your best friends for the rest of your life (or they might!), but how you treat people matters. Be kind. Don't spend your time worrying about who's cool (and no, you're not). Girls are mean, and you don't have Mean Girls to show you how to deal with it, but you know who the good ones are. Be friends with the people you like, the people who make you happy, the people who will teach you what friendship means. And later, when this genius college dropout starts Facebook and you reconnect with everyone from high school, you'll realize that pretty much everyone turns out alright anyway.
No, you're not going to marry that guy. Or that one. (But the guy you end up with isn't too far away, and he's beyond incredible.)
 |
| Photo by Rhee Bevere |
Spend more time with your parents. You will never regret it. Appreciate the fact that they show up to your dance competitions and care about your girl drama. Stop rolling your eyes when they want to see you more. There will come a day, pretty soon, when you'll live 400 miles away, and you'll wish almost daily that you were closer to them. Then again, that turns out okay, too. They'll realize you're just being a teenager, and they'll love you anyway.
Speaking of family, appreciate those days with your brother when he drives you to school (begrudgingly, but still). In ten years, you'll still know every word to every song he forces you to listen to, and it'll be a cool party trick when you can sing "All the Small Things" by Blink 182 and "Up in Here" by DMX. Enjoy the fact that he lets you hang out with his friends, because not all big brothers do that. Oh, and don't worry, once he moves out you won't bug each other so much. In fact, you'll be super close.
Learn how to change a tire, check your oil, and drive a stick. You're not as good of a driver as you think you are, and you won't be until you master the streets of Westwood.
Keep your old notebooks. You'll actually use them again when you're a high school teacher.
All in all, you aren't going to turn out too bad. Your heart's in the right place, and you have a lot of good people around to pull you through. And later, after you've finished college, gotten a job, and are married, you'll realize that 95% of the things you stressed about and/or thought were the most important things in the world don't matter at all.
Oh, and it wouldn't kill you to eat some vegetables once in awhile. You'll like them eventually--why not try now?
Love,
Future Julie
Best of luck this year to teachers and students!
What advice would you give your high school self?
I think I'd say a lot of what you said. I'd also tell myself to get my butt off the couch and be a little more active, that'd it's good for me, and why waste all those years being a bum.
ReplyDeleteGood one! I could have been way more active and eaten way healthier too.
Deletei love this post - i wish i could tell my high school self so much stuff but most importantly not to sweat the small stuff. i feel like high school me worried about so much drama that just did not matter at all! what a waste of time. glad i've gotten over that.
ReplyDeletedid you start school yesterday? how was the first day?!
Such drama, right?!
DeleteToday was the first day! It'll be in my post tonight, but it went well! :-) Thanks for asking!
I'm not sure why, but I find this really sweet :P. Oh and I would tell myself to chill out and stop being so self conscious.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was fun to write. Ugh, I was SUPER self conscious too - good advice!
DeleteI love this post, there is so much I would tell myself!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Glad you liked it!
DeleteI love this post so much, so relateable! I just recently started blogging and this was a post I'd always wanted to write. I think you've inspired me now :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I'm honored to be an inspiration. :-) Congrats on starting your blog! That's the hardest part!
DeleteI LOVE this so much! SO freaking much! :)
ReplyDeleteWell I love YOU!
DeleteJulie, I loved this. Everything about it. Got teary-eyed as I was reading it.
ReplyDeleteLove it! I think all girls worried about the cool group, and it usually turns out that the cool group become just like everyone else after high school.
ReplyDelete