Dear underclassmen,
High school is not everything there is. There are hard times, and there always will be hard times. Some of those may feel like the end of the world, and it may be, but the important thing is that there’s an entire universe waiting for you. There were countless times that I thought my world was crumbling around me and the ground was cracking beneath me. It was terrifying until I realized that beneath every ground that broke beneath my feet, there was another one waiting for me. Sometimes it takes walking down a new path to get through high school.
The important thing to know is that this is a four year long process. These are your formative years. This is the time for you to question your identity and become confident in that. This is the time to pursue those passions you’re unsure about and find what you like the most. Explore. It’s okay to make mistakes and try out new things, but the one principle you should remember is to always put yourself first.
Throughout high school, you will make friends and lose friends. It’s better to keep your circle small, consisting of only those that genuinely care about you and are true to themselves. But if you find that one of your friends isn’t good for you, it’s okay to cut them off. Despite the trend of self-deprecation, it’s okay to take care of yourself and do what’s best for you.
Grades are important, but not that important. It’s not worth it to over-work yourself and stress yourself out until you reach a mental breakdown. You can save that for college, if you go, when you’re paying thousands of dollars for those classes. But in high school, it’s not that big of a deal. As long as your grades are decent and good enough for whatever you want to do after high school, it’s okay. You don’t have to have straight A’s, but don’t fail or get too many D’s because that will impact you later too.
High school is hard. That’s just the truth. But you will get through it and you will come out of it so much stronger than you were going into it. You will be okay and you will make it through this. You have a bright future ahead of you, I promise.
Sincerely,
Jayden Moscato