In high school, every little thing might seem like the end of every little thing. As you grow up, though, things change. You start to realize that the person you were is no longer the person you’ve become. This isn’t a bad thing, however, seeing as though you are more mature now and hopefully have had an encounter with the real world. At the end of the day, you learn to realize that the things you thought in high school were backwards and misconstrued. If I could go back and do it all again, I would tell myself these eight things:

1. Spend more time with your family.

It may not seem like it now, but you don’t spend enough time with your family. At the end of every day, they are the people who are going to continue on your journey with you. Your friends, boyfriend, and teachers won’t be the ones moving you into college or helping you fill out job applications. Even though they all may be there for you in the process, your family is in it for the long run.

2. Don’t name your friend group.

Don’t even THINK about it. Do not. That night you came up with the idea, it might have sounded like the coolest thing ever. It’s so not. Not only did it give you and your friends a notorious reputation at school and everywhere else, the name also carried onto college.

3. Have a good group of friends, but make friends outside of that.

Your friends are amazing. Spend as much time with them and make as many memories as you can. Do, however, make friends outside of that. When you graduate, you want to be able to go up to each and every person and wish them a good luck, or best of wishes in college. Branch out.

4. Sorry, but you probably will not be finding Prince Charming in these four years.

Stop being unhappy for the wrong reasons. The love you fell for in high school will probably not be your future husband, even though I can be wrong. Regardless, stop worrying about the boy who ditched you on a first date or the one you liked but never noticed you. None of it is worth it.

5. Learn as much as you can.

Being smart is a GOOD thing. As you grow up, it becomes cool to be the smart kid. The “brainiac” in high school never got the hot cheerleader, but in the real world, he gets whoever he wants.

6. Don’t let little things bother you.

Your time in high school is too short to worry about petty things. Don’t worry about what you can’t control.

7. Take risks, make a fool of yourself; nobody actually notices or cares.

Being different and original is so much better than being orthodox. Creativity and uniqueness is what keeps the world going; it’s what drives the world and leads to new inventions and innovations. It’s so much better to be different and be yourself, knowing that your uniqueness kept you going.

8. Do whatever makes you happy.

Don’t join the volleyball team because you think you’d look good in spandex. Don’t play basketball because your Dad has always loved going to your middle school games. Find out what makes you the happiest, and stick to it. Once you find something you love, it’s imperative that you do not let it go.