8 Things You Realize About High School, 8 Years Later

1.Those dudes are not that cute

Seriously, when you’re 23 you realize that 18 year olds look like they’re 14. Just because there are no ACTUAL hot guys at your school or maybe they are all dating cheerleaders (so cliché), you do not have to grow a delusion for one that is “mildly” attractive. You do not NEED love (from an immature high school guy) and honestly….there is about a 98 percent chance you will NOT end up with this person.

2.Talking shit about people is a waste of time.

Seriously, there are better things to do, like talk about philosophy or religion or your favorite color, ANYTHING but other people. Not only does it do nothing for your intelligence, it’s an unhealthy habit to obsess about others because you are jealous of them, or because someone else has told you that they are a bad person. Figure it out for yourself, keep your lips sealed, people will start to trust you more, want to be around you more, and for this its easy to find and make “true” friends.  Shit talking just doesn’t promote good energy; vibes or behavior and people will call you a shit talker…behind your back (ooo conundrum)

3.Getting Screwed Over is Inevitable

Whether it’s by a guy, your “bestie” or both at the same damn time, teenagers are self-absorbed assholes who take out their angst on others without fully comprehending “why.” Like, when you tell a four year old not to eat a crayon, they don’t know better, its bright and colorful and probably looks delicious. That’s how I feel about teenagers; you have to tell them like “don’t pursue your friends boyfriend” or “don’t take her virginity then tell all your bros, its like kinda wrong.”

4. Your parents aren’t actually trying to ruin your life

For the longest time and even coming into my 20’s I had a very volatile relationship with my parents. We fought, I rebelled, they tried to control me and it never worked. I seriously am appalled at how much of a brat I was in high school- like screaming at my Mom that a teenage girl CAN stay out till 2am and nothing bad will happen. FALSE FALSE FALSE, whether you have your own children now or have just grown up, you realize that a lot of what your parents did was for the best. They aren’t trying to ruin your life; they just don’t want to see you end up on a poster in Walmart for missing children.

5.It’s OK to be single

In high school I constantly felt that I was missing out on first love, first relationships, first sexual experiences etc. I dumped my sophomore year “boyfriend” in a very cruel manner and was cursed for four years (TRUE STORY). EVERY guy, I repeat, EVERY single guy screwed me over in one way or another. What I wish I had known was that it was completely ok to be single in high school. That while other people may look like they’re in love, you really aren’t missing out on THAT much. That this relationship will be so tiny and minuscule to whatever you will experience in your 20s and one day when you find the right person.

6. It’s not the end of the world…like really….SERIOUSLY.

EVERYTHING that happened in high school was basically a MASSIVE DISASTER. OMG I HAVE A ZIT AND JOHNNY IS PICKING ME UP IN TWENTY MINTUES, MY LIFE IS OVER. Honestly no…your life is not over, and Johnny wont even notice that zit while trying to feel you up at the Sonic drive in. Oh my gosh…life goes on. Even ACTUAL shit like losing friends, getting rejected to college, experiencing depression, all these emotions pass and guess what…they don’t last forever…I have a completely different list of REAL shit to deal with now (hooray?).

7.Maybe 16 is a little too early to drive an actual car and 18 should not be the legal drinking limit.

Seriously, this is coming from a rebel extraordinaire but as soon as I turned 21 I was like…hell no, having drunk 18 year olds in bars sounds like a NIGHTMARE. Sure, I had a fake ID since I was 17, but whatever, I acted like a fucking idiot and probably should NOT have been allowed access to massive amounts of alcohol and bad decisions in one room. You should def. party in high school and experiment, but do it in a safe environment like a friend’s basement or a small house party. Lets not even talk about cars…moving death vehicles that are just NOT ok for the average teenager to have access too, esp. with the invention of text messaging and selfies.

8. If a nice guy comes along and asks you on a date, GO

I know I have told you that love is minuscule in high school but at the same time some people meet their soul mates at this wee ripe age. Everyone has a different path, I was clearly not meant to date anyone in HS, but there were guys that I thought “what if” about. Now I wish I hadn’t been such a stuck up snob and purposely told some guys “no” because I was worried what others would think. Its so dumb because most of the guys I meet now, who are amazing, extraordinary men both in friendships and relationships, were not necessarily the “cool popular” guys in HS. Sure, some are totally screwed up from it now, so lets avoid them, but the “average” quiet art nerd is going to blossom into a hot bass player with a bad boy edge (teenage angst works wonders) who you will later wish you had just gone out to dinner with.

End Note:

I’m not saying these issues don’t transcend into adulthood, because trust me, they do. But when you are young and experiencing these emotions and situations for the first time, your brain doesn’t have the capacity to understand or tell yourself why these things are all happening to you. I know everyone’s high school experience was completely different. No two people are alike, and for that, I’d like to hear audience comments on what you learned in high school, after the fact. I remember feeling so depressed and confused in high school; feeling like I had no true friends, no one person that would drop anything to help me out (besides my parents). I wish I had the perspective I do now, or even outlets like Thought Catalog so I would’ve known I wasn’t alone.