I have a lot of advice when it comes to surviving high school, but my biggest piece of useful information is about something we all sometimes take for granted. It really started to hit me as I got closer to graduation but prior to that, I never really thought about it. Even if it does sound cliche, it is something that needs to be repeated. High schoolers, enjoy every moment you have with your friends. I am saying this now because your year will fly by. It seems as if you have a solid amount of time left before senior prom, your big spring break trip and graduation, but it will come faster than you think. Accept the wake-up call now so you can make each moment with your friends just a little bit more special.
First things first, put down the phone. I get it, you need to stay connected with the social world and mostly everything is planned last minute in high school. You do not want to miss a single beat and must stay updated on all your texts and social media, but I promise the only thing you will be missing out on is your friends. Having a bright screen in front of your face distracts you from the people who are sitting right in front of you. Even if you are talking to them, you are not fully there.
Put down the technology trap and have an actual conversation with the people you only have a few months left with. If you are fortunate enough to find a school that you and your best friends are all interested in, you will still have the time of your life but you may have to face the hard truth. Both of you will most likely head your separate ways. If you join greek life, you will probably end up joining different sororities. If you have different majors, you will probably make different friends in each of your separate classes. If you have different schedules, you will not see each other as often as you are used to even if you live in the same dorm.
And if you plan on attending different schools, make sure you give your besties a long goodbye. Even if you promise to see your friends a set amount of times each year, it most likely will not happen. It is hard to face the reality of it, but you get caught up. Between the increased amount of studying, new friends, many social outings, and more, your schedule just gets booked. It suddenly becomes hard to coordinate a time to make a trip to see your best friends. You are living in different places at different schools and your lives have inevitably gone different ways.
Now, this is not meant to be a heart-breaking message about losing touch with your best friend(s) when leaving for college, it is simply a wakeup call. Especially for those high school seniors out there. Enjoy every second with your friends and cherish each moment because before you know it, you will all be on your separate journey.
