You often hear about the comparison made between school and prison and to an extent it is true, except if you’re in school, you know, you get to go home at the end of the day.
Secondary school (high school) is a very unpleasant place to be for some people. Understandably, you have to get up early every morning, put on a uniform and spend the day stuck in a building with people from all walks of life, whose personalities can clash with your own meaning you don’t like everyone in your class let alone your year group. It’s like being stuck in a job you hate with homework instead of a salary.
Fortunately it’s only temporary, unfortunately it’s still a part of life everyone has to go through but while you’re there, try to pick up on a few things;
- You are not going to like everyone you meet and as fabulous as you are, not everyone you meet is going to like you either.
- You are going to be good at some things and bad at others. There are going to be people who are better than you and people who are worse than you. Be proud of your achievements while knowing how to handle your mistakes.
- Everyone is winging it, no one knows what the hell they are doing so don’t be so hard on yourself. Just work on your acting skills like everyone else so no one knows you’re absolutely sh*tting it.
There are a number of things I would change if I could go back but at the same time, I wouldn’t want to change a thing because of who I am now. I think it is important to take into account that you are not in control of your surroundings but you are in control of how you handle yourself. It is difficult to take control of a situation in which you feel you are the victim, as helpless as you feel about it you need to look outside of the “poor me” mentality and view the situation with an open mind and figure out how to solve it. One of my biggest regrets was letting insecurities get to me which lead to a “what’s the point?” type of attitude, you need to find the solutions to your problems, talk about them with friends and family and take on any advice that they give but ultimately it comes down to you.
School is tough because although it is a place of learning in the academic sense, you learn a lot about society and how people work too. No matter what is going on around you, you are there to learn, being able to regurgitate all of that useless information after six years is what will get you to where you want to be (not). You are not a passenger on this journey you are on which is life, you decide where you want to go if you want it enough and if you’re not sure then explore your options. Doing well in exams is something you do for yourself, if you can say that you’ve done your best then that’s enough. Everyone wants to do well, you want to have something to show for all these years but at the same time these grades will not decide your future or represent just how intelligent you really are.
My fondest memories from my years at school were not actually made at school. I made friends in the city and also hung out with people from school outside of school. It was fun while it lasted and I will remember those couple of years and smile because I learned and I laughed and I looked like an absolute nutter half the time but I had fun. I don’t regret any of it no matter how difficult it was sometimes because the good stuff outweighed the bad always.
Another thing you need to remember is that not everyone you meet will always be in your life and that’s okay. We outgrow each other and sometimes we just don’t fit, if it ends badly learn from it, don’t wallow in self pity because someone decided they didn’t want to stay. It is also important to understand that some relationships just aren’t healthy and you need to go with your gut, if a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend is not bringing out the best in you, you need to consider your options.
You may meet friends for life but chances are you won’t. However, there’s still time after school, like college or work, wherever you end up because those are the places where you learn what to do with your new found freedom and you are all screwing it up together. Everyone is finding themselves and learning some hard lessons that no institution can ever teach you, we’re all just learning about what’s beyond the bubble.
thenotsoquietone 