Real Talk
5 Things I Wish I Knew In High School
…braces and weird hair aren’t forever
It doesn’t matter if you were your school’s Regina George or Janis Ian (or, depending on your generation, Cher Horowitz or pre-makeover Tai Frasier), 10 years later, everyone’s going to forget who you were in high school. I wish I knew this in high school. But no, I was too busy worrying about my buckteeth and braces and flat chest. If I could go back in time and give myself some advice, here’s what I’d say..
These are the 5 things I wish I knew in high school
That being an adult isn’t all it’s hyped up to be
Remember when we desperately wanted to be adults because it meant we could do whatever we wanted, like stay out at all hours of the day? Twenty-something years later, I’m in bed by 8pm and it’s all I look forward to. There’s also bills, lopsided boobs from breastfeeding, dealing with tantrums and this thing called a J-O-B. Take me back to high school, where all I had to do was worry about studying, please. Also, be kinder and more respectful to your parents because they’ve been there, and have done a whole lot. Plus, they know you better than anyone else. Yep, even better than your boyfriend of three whole months—gasp!
Be nice
I used to mercilessly tease this classmate who I used to call “Poo Poo” (her name was Pooja) and this bad habit of rolling my eyes at this younger girl whom we all thought was the biggest teacher’s pet. When I was mad at this particular girl, I wrote “________ is a sl**” in permanent marker on a bathroom stall, on the wall of a telephone booth and also on a cafeteria table. I also took a few hits myself and should have thought twice before doing anything.
Love yourself
Even if you don’t have the latest designer bag that everyone else has, you’ve barely the boobs to fill in a bra or think you’re too thin, here’s the thing: everyone’s just as embarrassed as you are! Know that you’ll find someone who appreciates you for all these things, and they’ll be your BFF for life. Plus, being insecure is something that’ll keep on popping up in your life, so you might as well start getting over it now.
Be a sponge
You know how everyone tells you, “You’ll probably never use this in real life”? Well, yes, that’s partly true, but it doesn’t mean you should just shrug off Algebra or Physics. Here’s the thing, when you’re an adult, you probably won’t be talking about Pythagoras’ theorem or equations, but you’re going to be learning a LOT. All those boring lessons you went through in high school were just prepping you for all the new things you’ll be learning at work and life. Wait ’til you try doing your taxes…
Nobody wants to peak at sixteen
All these labels you’re given in high school: ‘nerd’ ,’weirdo’, ‘prude’ or even ‘cool’ doesn’t matter because everything changes. Your future boss will probably be that ‘nerd’ you were always making fun of and the ‘cool’ girls will become moms who sleep at 8pm. Yup, life has a good way of evening things out so don’t let it get to you.
Enjoy these years—you’ll never know what lays ahead of you. And same thing goes for us parents; we have a whole lot to learn and experience, especially with kids around!
