I've posted similar to this previously. But this time it's a little longer, and I'm a little smarter.
My middle/high school experiences, this past year especially, have consisted of a lot of learning. (I'm not done with high school, and I'm certainly not an older experienced person, but this is what I know.) So I figured I would compose a list of the most important things I've learned, somewhat for my benefit, and possibly for the benefit of anyone reading.
1. If you think you should say something, you probably should. But I think that if a thought comes to your mind, of something to contribute to a discussion, some advice to give to a friend, etc., that you think you should say, do it. It will probably do some good. Your thoughts turned into words can influence someone greatly. Consequently, they shouldn't be negative words.
2. You'll get over it. Yes, you will. Emotional issues are rampant in teenage years, especially in girls. Lucky us. And people will tell you that you should let time pass and see how you feel, cause time heals everything. And you won't believe anyone, because it hurts so badly that you will just never be able to move on. Okay, realistically, time doesn't heal EVERYTHING, but it does heal about 99% of things. Eventually things will stop hurting, and it's usually because you begin to think about them differently. Your thoughts play a very large part in your emotions. But I promise you will get over it. It might take a very long time, but the time will come.
3. You should plan ahead. Because when you get to be close to 17, and you only have a couple years left till you have to be a grown up, thinking you're gonna go to a big university and become a doctor and also you want to go on a mission and travel with your best friend... You need money for all that. Lots of it. And when you finally decide all the stuff you want to do, you realize it's a little late to START getting ready for all of that.
4. If you're passionate about something, work for its benefit. There's no use in having a zeal for something and letting it go to pot. If you want to save animals, save animals. If you want to bring justice to victims of domestic violence, go ahead. If you want to bring sweaters back in dress code at your school, you can! Being stuck doing something you have no passion for is really unfortunate.
5. You can't please everybody. Oh, no, you can't. There's always going to be somebody who is upset with you, or who disagrees with you, or who just doesn't like you. It's gonna happen. But you don't need to worry about that because....
6. It won't do you any good to worry about others' opinion of you. I promise. There is no feeling more liberating than finally reaching the point where you can honestly say you don't care what others think of you. Of course, you shouldn't use that as an excuse to be a jerk to everyone you come in contact with, but you shouldn't spend life doing things according to what others will judge you for.
7. You should care for people, even if they don't care for you, but you probably shouldn't worry about them. In relation to number 6, worrying won't get you much of anything except lots of unnecessary stress. It's really hard to reach this point, and I still haven't fully. However, I do know I don't like stress. And even if I do worry about things, most of those things (people) are not under my control.
8. Fear is a good thing, but you should still do some things you're afraid of. Obviously we feel fear for a reason. If we come across a rhinoceros in our path (although unlikely), we won't run at it, because we know it could hurt us. Fear is kind of just common sense, but it shouldn't rule our thoughts and actions. I'm still trying to figure out how to explain how I feel about this to people. Maybe I'll get back to it later.
9. Don't have a "significant other" in high school. Friends are great (until they graduate and then leave you and you're sad, or just go to a different school and you're sad, or you graduate and you're sad). You should probably have a best friend. Really great friends are hard to come by, unfortunately, but I've got some really great friends, and they have made my [school] life 100x better than it ever was when I had a boyfriend. Plus, friends (usually) wont distract you from your school work, but a boyfriend will. Except I distract my friends all the time. Sorry guys. I'll work on that.
10. Motivation visits you less and less as your school career progresses. Too bad.. But that just means you have to work harder. It's difficult. Knowledge is such a benefit to you, though, that it's worth almost anything. You don't have to devote your whole existence to your school work. Actually, please don't. I'm not even specifically talking about school work. Just...
11. Gain knowledge in all you do. Learn from everything and everyone. You don't need to know the capitols of all 50 states (I know the capitols of all 50 states) or memorize the Declaration of Independence (like 98.3% of the kids at my school). That's not knowledge. That's memorization of facts. Sure, it might come in handy some day, but it won't seriously impact your life. Learn things that impact you personally. Learn things you're passionate about.
12. It's good to think about what others think about. No, I'm not contradicting my earlier statement, nor am I saying you should conform. What I am saying is that you should always take into consideration what the other person is thinking or feeling. It'll do you a lot of good to learn to do this, because a lot of people don't.
13. Being the bigger person is sometimes just a matter of accepting that people can't always understand each other, so letting things go can be the best option. Walking away from a disagreement isn't usually a sign of weakness, but of intelligence; arguing is pointless.
14. Happiness is a choice. Period. No questions asked.
