High school can be a scary place for some and for others it is a place all about discovery. During those four years of transitioning from childhood and teenage years, to adulthood, you really begin to learn things about yourself and the person you want to be. For the current high school students, here are somethings I have learned that I wish you would not take advantage of.

1. Be proud of where you go to school

It is easy to think that high school is lame and there will be times when you decide that you really hate school, but do not forget to be proud. Having school spirit will really make your whole high school experience different, in a better way. When it comes to spirit week MAKE SURE YOU PARTICIPATE! You might see it as lame, trust me I did too, but when you dress up and you battle the grades for the spirit stick it becomes fun. There is nothing like coming together with your school family to try to defeat the other classes.

2. Family, family, family

Family is everything, whether they are blood or not, through all your ups and your downs. Family will be what makes you, not what breaks you. My family members were some of my biggest supporters, but they were also some of the people that have doubted me the most. I hit a rough spot and my sisters never let that go. I almost failed my sophomore year and that is something that my sisters have dangled over my head ever since. With that you can only imagine that on May 30, 2017, it was pretty nice to walk across the stage with honor roll because none of them believed that I could do it. My family's doubt pushed me to do my best, which enabled me to get accepted into my top pick school. Go wolverines!

3. Get involved in more than just your homework

I was a very, very shy girl. I kept to myself but once I started getting involved with theater that changed. I loved to act and decided to test my limits on stage. Let me tell you I could not have been more proud of myself. By my senior year, I was able to confidently stand on stage and sing in front of an audience made up of a couple hundred people. The old me would not have even been able to stand in front of five people to give a speech. Theater, choir and community service really allowed me to find myself and allowed me to figure out just what it is that I love to do.

4. Keep friends close and enemies on another planet

Know that on your graduation day you will not necessarily walk out of high school with the same people you walked in with and that is 101% OK. Through high school you will learn who your real friends are. The friends that stick with you through all the fights and all the heartbreak and happiness, are the friends you need to keep. They only come around every so often. Losing friends along the way is OK, it is life, but just know you need someone on your side because you can not do high school completely on your own.

5. If you have a once in a lifetime opportunity make sure you take it

During my junior year we had an Australian exchange student at my school and after a couple of weeks, we got really close. So close that when she went back home in June we still kept in touch and talked EVERY day. So when her parents emailed me and asked me if they could fly me out there for a couple weeks to surprise her for her birthday I took that offer up. The above picture was taken while we stayed in Byron Bay.