The Class of 2023
Graduation // Things I've Learned
WARNING: This first header in today’s article can be a trigger warning for some as it discusses s*icidal thoughts and mental health, so please continue with caution. The rest of today’s article is also entirely my personal and bias opinion, you do not have to take anything I say as your own opinion. Thank you for taking the time to read!
Today’s date, when I begin writing this, is June 16th, 2023. Yesterday, me and my fellow classmates of the Class of 2023 graduated high school which is still surreal to me. This class has gone through so much in the last 4 years and realistically, our whole high school experience was cut in half. COVID took the world by storm when cases started to arise in our lives in March of 2020 and wounded us all at our homes. When I think about my freshman self, I’m grateful I didn’t give up. High school wasn’t always as we wanted it to be, but we still made the best of it. I’ll always be truly grateful for those I met along the way, I’ll love and appreciate them forever.
I wanted to use today’s article to talk about something a little different and provide some little things that I learned from high school to anyone who could be starting high school and underclassman.
Mental Health
Change is not fun and it’s not very ideal. It kind of sucks in the beginning generally. For me, I struggled a lot when I got into high school with my mental health. From my own personal experience, as someone who was coming from a small town going to a very big high school, it was a whole new ball park. I started playing Freshman Soccer and was bullied constantly because I wasn’t good at the sport, in all honesty. From this and other factors, I went into an early stage of depression. I would hold back my feelings, constantly put myself down, and I had a lot of s*icidal thoughts.
And, for anyone who maybe or is struggling right now, I promise you: it will get better.
Something I learned in high school is it may seem like you are often alone in your fight, but you are not. Go talk to someone: a trusted friend, adult, a parent, sibling, it doesn’t matter. People do want to be there to support you and want to help in anyway. It took me till my Junior year to really see this, but there is always resources, and so many to choose from. If you’re someone who doesn’t have or doesn’t want to talk to someone you know, there’s resources such as the S*icide Hotline. You can call or text 988 for their hotline 24/7. High school is a lot to handle sometimes and just know again, you are never alone in your fights.
Giving a Sh*t about What Others Think
This next topic has always been a big struggle for me and my friends growing up. We always were very scared what people thought of us. A huge fact that took me till the later part of senior year to kick in was simply that no one really cares. I can promise you, if you do something silly in class, and maybe people laugh, they will forget in probably an hour or less (more likely less). People these days are not focused on you, they’re focused on themselves and whatever they’re up to or trying to accomplish. So, have fun and be yourself. Don’t worry about what others think. There’s a huge chance that after you graduate, you will not see any of these people ever again.
Thus, stay true to yourself, don’t hide anything for others, don’t act differently because you’re scared people may think you’re weird; embrace your differences. There’s nothing wrong with being different, we’re all unique in our own fun ways. Be you and stay true to your own values. Don’t let other teenagers determine how you live your life. High School just goes by too fast to care so much about those Little Things (by Good Charlette).
College
This is a big one for many of the upperclassman and this is my opinion, so I don’t want anyone getting upset at me but here’s my take: College is not as serious as you think. It really isn’t. I’ve said too much about college in my other articles already (so, let’s be more repetitive!), but college is very similar and very different for everyone. College is the same in one key way: Education. Wherever you go, weather it’s Harvard, TCNJ, or a local community college, you’ll still get an solid education. It is how you use that education and what you do and accomplish at said school that truly reflects who you are as a student and individual. So, in the end, college apps season is stressful, but just know that if you don’t get into your #1 choice that it’s okay. Some things are meant to happen and I’ve heard so many stories of people wanting to go to a college such as UMiami, getting rejected, and then they go to Ole Miss and love it more than they ever thought even if it wasn’t their #1 pick. You will still succeed, you will still get a degree, and you will still have a college experience (depending on what you make of it). Take this time seriously, but have an open mind as well, and know it will all be okay and workout.
Have Fun!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my last 14 years of my life, elementary and middle school included, it’s that life moves so so fast. I had a lot of days where I felt horrible and it was a slow day, but time doesn’t stop. Go out there, join a club, try something new, and have a blast. Take advantage of everything while it’s in the grasp of your hands.
The Next Chapter of Life
I really like the Taylor Swift song on her album, Midnights, called You’re On Your Own, Kid. It just really goes with my current mentality after now graduating. For the last 14 years of my life, it’s been like a bike ride. I started off on my training wheels, slowly started becoming more comfortable on them, took a few falls and got hurt, had some good days on my trail and some bad, and now I’m finishing off my ride and the training wheels are completely off. The end of the road for them, but the start of a new one to come. The difference is this time there’s no training. It’s time for us to step up and decide what’s next whether that be to take a path of college, work, or a year to decompress. It’s a really uncomfortable and different for me, at least, but I know there’s so much more to conquer in my life. I have so many more dreams and things I want to do.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again in these little articles: dream big. There’s an world of opportunities and a world that needs change and we’re the next generation to continue that. We’re the next CEO’s, Doctors, Nurses, Mechanics, etc. Good luck and all the best to all my 2023 grads. This has gotten way too serious and saddening for my liking, so that’s all I got for today. I hope you enjoyed, much more to come too for this summer!
Thanks for reading : )
-Brandon
