Things I learned I wish I knew in High School: Wisdom to pass on to the next generation.

1. Your high school sweetheart will probably not be your spouse.

I know back when I was in school I thought my boyfriend and I were the “one and only true love” that you see in movies and read about in books. Honestly most young people do. Statistically only like 2% of people end up marrying their high school sweetheart and even if they do they probably won’t be as happy as they were in high school. When you grow up you are faced with paying bills and taking care of a home and maybe even having kids. Being an adult is very stressful and your relationships become different. There’s more to adult relationships then just knowing what each other is feeling all the time. I honestly would have told anyone they were stupid and full of it back in high school if they told me the boyfriend I had and me wouldn’t work out. If anyone had of told me that then and I actually believed it it would have saved me a lot of pain and time wasted on effort put into him.

2. The unpopular kids are the ones who make the most money.

The kids I went to school with the ones who they called “computer nerds” and the “Math freaks” all are making way more money than the popular kids who played sports. How many kids play sports per year? How many kids are good enough to get a scholarship by playing them? Not very many of them even make it to the NFL or the Olympics after college or university. The kids who actually stay at home and focus on getting good at computers or math are the ones who make the most in the adult world financially. The kids who got picked on when I was in school are the ones who are driving their Jaguars and Mercedes Benz laughing at all the kids who made fun of them for being smart. They are actually the ones who can afford to have a hot wife, and buy what they want when they want it. That computer nerd the jocks all snickered at and the math freak will one day be your boss! They are the ones who come out on top in the end. The majority of the jocks I went to school with who everyone admired ended up drunks just sitting around talking about “the glory days”. Can you imagine sitting around talking about high school in your 30’s wishing you were still there? Nothing is worse than listening to grown men talk about how great they were in high school, because in reality it is very depressing if that is the only good thing you done with your life…scoring a touchdown may matter in the moment but won’t matter 2, 3, especially 10 years from now.

3. It doesn’t matter what University you go to.

I was convinced I was going to go to a great art school right when I graduated and my senior year I was so stressed out about it that I ended up dropping out of school because I couldn’t handle the pressure of “what if I don’t get in” “OMG my life will be over” in reality my life wasn’t over, I only got my GED a year ago but I am in a decent school now, where I am studying for a graphic arts degree and it doesn’t matter if I get my degree from a huge art school or a community college. All that matters is that I pass and actually get my degree. In the real world when you go to apply somewhere they don’t ask you or even care what school you went to all they care about is “do you have a degree or a certification”? I really wish I had of known that in high school because not knowing that stressed me out so bad quit before I even started.

4. Your friends probably won’t be your friends after you graduate.

Climbing the social hierarchy in school is a complete waste of time. I really thought I was going to get an apartment with my friends and our kids were going to grow up together. The truth is, when people get older (Grow up) they move, have kids, get married, and therefore change. You will change, you will not be the same person you were when you met these people because your life experiences will affect who you become and who your friends will evolve into. The things you found funny and fun may not entertain you as much as it did when you were young. Maybe it will but maybe your friends will grow out of it. High school is just a transitional period of your life, where you are supposed to transition into adulthood and most people will move on to college or university and come back more educated and different. Don’t let that bother you. Don’t worry about who is saying what about you or who is making fun of who because when you do finish high school it won’t matter. It won’t matter if you fit in, or what clothes you wear or how popular you are because high school is only 4 years of your life and most people live well into their 70’s or 80’s.

These are four things I really wish I knew when I was in high school. I know that if I knew these things my life would have been 100% easier back then and probably would have helped me today. I realize some of these things I was told but being young and naive I refused to listen. I am now a 27 year old mother, college student and wife. I had put so much effort into worrying about things that didn’t really matter back when I was in school that I lost focus on what really mattered which was that life goes beyond high school. I lived in the moment like so many young people do and I suffered because of it. My family and I do live pay check to pay check but there is more to life than money. I can honestly say I have never been happier in my life then what I am today. There is so much good and I want to let young people know that there is more than just school. It does get better and it can be better. All young people take these things into consideration when you get up in the morning, when you really don’t want to go to school and face what you consider “your nightmare” because it gets better, it really and truly does. These are little tidbits of information I want to share with you because I am still young enough to remember what it was like but old enough to care. I hope some high school student out there will find this information useful and maybe make them feel better about going to school tomorrow. Yes I was in your shoes like so many others and survived it only to come out on top.