Oh, the joys of high school. Long 7-hour days, followed with mounds of homework and friend drama, and don't forget to mention the fight that you and mom had about not doing the dishes. Your life seems so hard, like it's never going to get better, like you have it worse than everyone else. But then you graduate. You grow up. And then, weirdly enough, you miss high school and you wonder why you thought it was so bad. Here are 10 things I wish I could've told my high school self that would've made high school seem not as bad as I thought it was.

1. Don't stress so much about high school friends.

You've got your whole life to make friends, don't stress about the ones in grades 9-12 of high school. Odds are, you probably won’t talk to any of them after you graduate anyway.

2. You will meet the all-time BEST people in college.

So maybe those high school girls aren't so nice? It's okay. Wait it out. College will be your time to make life-long, bridesmaid friends, so don’t let high school girls hold you back.

3.Your grades aren’t everything.

I’m not saying that getting good grades isn’t important, but I remember even freshmen year I would spend hours and hours a night writing notes and studying and stressing about the next test coming up. I missed out on a lot of fun experiences because I thought that my grades in high school were my everything, so don't worry so much. One B won't kill you.

4. Boys DON'T matter!

You don’t have to kiss X number of boys or have X number of boyfriends to be cool. It doesn’t matter. All of high school, I was always so worried that I’d never have my first kiss, never have a boyfriend, never find the right one, blah, blah, blah. But the thing is, everyone’s time is different to find love and you don’t need to rush it or stress about it. Love comes to you when you least expect it.

5. You’re Mom loves you and she has a good reason for what she does.

I know it may seem like your mom is the devil and is only trying to make your life a living hell in high school, but trust me, she's not. Your mom just wants what's best for you and sometimes she can see it before you do. So try not to be so hard on her.

6. Be involved!

In high school, I missed out on things because I was scared or shy or felt like it wasn’t going to be fun, but I wished I would've participated more. Join a club, a sports team, go to all the games, do everything you can to make your high school experience the best it can be.

7. Being "popular" literally does not matter. At all.

I spent a lot of my time at high school comparing the number of friends I had to other people and I was always wishing that I could be more popular and have more friends. But what I didn't realize at the time is that literally NONE of that matters. Seriously, you have to just trust me on that one. Spend your time creating strong relationships with the people that actually want to be in your life, not anyone else.

8. Partying and drinking don’t make you cool.

I know it like the thing for cool kids to spend their entire weekends partying and drinking, but is it really that cool? I’m not saying that partying is bad, but just don't get so caught up in the peer pressure. It doesn’t make you cool to drink a 12 pack of beer by yourself on a Friday night and black out all weekend. If it isn't for you, that's okay.

9. Put yourself out there more.

I know for me, personally, I was always kind of shy and it would take me awhile to open up to people. On top of that, I always let the more “popular” people intimidate me as if they were somehow better than I was (which I now know they weren’t). If I could, I would’ve told my younger self to branch out and don’t be afraid to talk to anyone, not even the popular kids.

10. Appreciate living at home and everything that your parents provide for you.

Don't EVER take a home cooked meal for granted. Ever. Trust me. I wish I would’ve appreciated the fact that I had my own room, a kitchen full of real food, a full sized bed, a quiet space to study, and getting to see my family every day while I was in high school. Living in a 10x10 dorm room at my college, with two others girls, where your bed is as hard as cement, makes you miss home so much more than you ever thought you would.

High school really wasn't all that bad and I wish I would've appreciated it a little more. Hopefully, this helps to shed some light on any of you that are having a hard time in high school. But if anything, just ride it out because college truly is the best years of your life.