High school is not the easiest time in the world, especially when graduation time comes around. Remember that you're not alone in these changes, though.

Here are 10 things to know and remember before you graduate high school:

1. Please listen to your parents when they tell you that you future starts when you’re in high school. It really does. Your study habits, your work ethic, everything starts now. It sets the tone for your college career, and then your real career. Don’t start off on a bad note.

2. That being said, remember to take care of yourself too. As important as building a great foundation is, remembering to have fun is important too. Work hard, play hard.

3. Goodbyes are hard, but they’re not permanent. Start working now on the relationships you want to keep throughout college. Tell them they’re important now, before you’re miles away and missing them.

4.Change is hard. By your senior year, you’re applying for colleges, ordering your cap and gown, and getting ready for the rest of your life. It’s okay to be overwhelmed. It’s alright to be unsure of your future. It’s okay to be overwhelmed.

5. It’s okay to be overwhelmed and worried about your future, but don’t forget that you have a future, and it’s YOUR future. Don’t let your parents or your current boyfriend/girlfriend change your mind on what you want to do with your life. It could be a huge mistake.

6. Mistakes will be made, though. You might really mess up while you’re in high school. Your grades might be too low to get into a good school, or you may have missed an application deadline. Just know that you always have options. Mistakes aren’t the end of the world.

7. It’s okay if you don’t want to go to college, and just work straight out of school. In today’s society, that’s almost unheard of, but if it’s what you want to do, do it and be good at it.

8. Long distance relationships are hard, especially right out of high school. You’re going to want to try to make it work as hard as you can, and it might work. But please, don’t force it if it’s not working. Love the other person enough to let go. Love yourself enough to let go.

9. Stay close with your teachers. They could become huge assets or mentors to you while you’re in college. Yeah you have your parents, but it helps to have someone like a teacher on your side. Plus, they write really good letters of recommendation.

10. Breathe. Graduation will come. There will be a last football game, and a last dance rehearsal, and a last everything. You can cry. Spend graduation night looking at the stars with your best friends wondering where time went by. Look forward to the future, but don’t look back. When you graduate, don’t stay stuck in high school. Change is hard, but this change will be one of the biggest in your life. Breathe. And live.