Who says wisdom is reserved for wrinkly old men with large, grey beards? Anyone with a decent amount of life experience can give wisdom. I figured hey, I’m out of high school now so I surely have some advice the youngins will want to hear. And even if they don’t, well too bad because that’s what I’m writing this week. Please enjoy these words of wisdom. Or as you kids say, “major keys”.

1. Keep it real

High school is a time where everyone is trying to stand out, and a lot of people put on a fake personality and pretend they like people just to have a good image. But guess what. Most of the people you meet in high you’ll never see again once you graduate. Keep your non-judgmental friends that care about you, but everyone else is insignificant. So with that in mind, don’t worry about what they think of you. This is where you have to find out the person you wanna be, so don’t be fake. Impressing other people is not as important as being yourself. So, to any freshman trying to stand out, don’t worry. Stick with a good group of friends and don’t let the haters get to you.

2. You are the most important person in your life

I know that Emma Watson or Harry Styles may seem like your eternal soulmate, but they should not be more important to you than you. Keep yourself healthy, mentally and physically. Help others, but don’t put yourself in danger for others. It’s okay to say no to a friend’s invitation if you need to do work, see family or, yes, even if you are just tired. If they are good friends they’ll understand. Don’t be selfish, but always keep yourself in check.

3. Have something to do

So yes, if you have a legitimate excuse to not see your friends, that’s fine. But if you don’t, then say yes! I can tell you that 99% of the time sitting around on your phone or watching Netflix alone is way less fun than going out with your friends. And an easy way to stay social is signing up for clubs, doing the school play, playing a sport, or any sort of extracurricular activity. And if you don’t want to do any of that, at least have some sort of hobby you can do at home. Trust me, you will regret it if you spend all of high school sitting around doing nothing.

4. Peer pressure still exists

And, you always have the power to say no. Like I said, be yourself. Everyone else is gonna have different standards that they are gonna try to force on you, but you have to maintain your own set of standards. If you feel uncomfortable or threatened, just leave. Whatever it was they were pressuring you into doing, it probably won’t be worth it. Even if it’s friendly peer pressure by your friends, you still have every right to say no. People should respect your feelings, and if your only reason for not wanting to do something is “I just don’t want to”, then they should be able to respect that. This relates to what I said before about you being the most important person in your life. Only do what you want to do.

5. Talk to people

One thing that has surprised me recently is the friendliness of other people. If you’re a genuinely nice person, people will like to talk to you. So if you find yourself at a party with no one to talk to, just say hi to someone. Ask them questions about themselves. People like being talked to. And if they immediately ignore you, then they probably weren’t the kind of person you’d want to be acquainted with anyway. Don’t think that popular kids will never talk to you just because you’re not as popular as them. If you make a genuine effort to engage in conversation with them, they will appreciate it. If someone is popular, that doesn’t automatically make them mean. A lot of people are popular because they enjoy talking to everyone and don’t exclude people. You can learn a lot from people, and you’ll never know if someone could be your best friend unless you approach them.

6. Have fun

I know how cliché it is to end a list with “have fun”, but it is very necessary. Right now, you are young. You don’t have to worry about all the scariness of adulthood. So get out there. Explore. Find out about yourself. Break a few rules. Don’t let the education system get in the way of your learning. Cherish your youth and freedom while you still have it, and always keep that youthfulness inside you. Do something you never thought you could do. Laugh until it hurts. Challenge yourself. Live.