Hello all,

In lieu of recent events at my Alma Mater I have taken to the keyboard once again. This post is specifically for all of my senior loves in high school however if you are older you will probably find yourself wishing that someone had told you this when you were younger, and if you are younger you will find this helpful one day soon.

The Thing They Don’t Teach You in High School:

High school is NOT the place you find yourself. In fact… A lot of people (all liars I might add) might have you convinced at this point in your life that this is where you find you, that these are the best years of your life, and that you should be having the time of your life here with the friends you will keep FOREVER.

I have but one thing to say to all of you liars… Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

Yes lovies, high school is an important time. You will learn more here about yourself than you have in previous years and that will both blow your mind and leave you just a little bit confused about… everything. I, self-proclaimed internet queen and world-class dance dance revolutioner, was a… *GULP*… Complete loser in high school. I had maybe three friends and on any given Friday night you can bet your lunch money that I was not invited anywhere. (And when I was my mom was always saying things like, “Why don’t you go?” I always responded with things like “Mooooooowwwwm gqwewuahdfjeeahdkfjhppp.” Which, In case you were wondering, is the sound of “Mom I don’t want to go” through a mouth full of ice cream. Then I went back to cuddling my dogs on the couch and watching old Disney movies like the pretentious teen that I totally wanted to be.) Thinking back on it I’m pretty sure high school is where I decided that I loved being on a team and that I loved being alone more than anything. That’s just the paradox that is my life. That’s not the point. The point is this.

Thank goodness that isn’t all I have learned/will ever learn about myself.

Here it is… The thing they don’t teach you in high school…

Life is so much better after high school.

Yeah you spent four years stressing over grades and who was dating who and going to football games on Friday nights and panicking about standardized tests and your SAT and you ACT and your friend and who hated who and who was cool and which teachers were the worst and your first love that you thought was your last love and your best friend that wasn’t your best friend anymore and blah blah blah… It’s all worthless. Seriously. That gave you nothing. I’m sorry to be a dream killer. The people who still believe that high school was the best years of your life after high school are the people who were way too cool in high school that still kind of wish they were back in high school… You get it?

I have spent two semesters at the school of my dreams in the town of my dreams and I can’t even begin to tell you all of the things that I know about me now. It’s actually kind of insane. (And also it’s so cool being addicted to coffee, who knew?) I had one of my old high school friends call me up the other day just to tell me that I “seem really happy now”. Um, yes, hi, thank you so much. I seem happy because I am happy. It’s a really different and weird thing to grow into yourself. It’ll be confusing and it will feel kind of scary, but if there is one thing I promise you as a person who loves every little thing about each and every one of you reading this (even the ugly parts) it’s that things like that are really the most important parts of your life.

I’m saying this because I don’t want any one of you to ever feel too overwhelmed by the mountain you are climbing that is high school. I’ve been there. I cried over my SAT. I cried over a few really bad test scores. My daddy always told me “don’t sweat the small stuff”. At the time I thought he meant “don’t sweat the one test grade” or “don’t sweat the one failure”. That isn’t what he meant at all. What he meant was “don’t sweat all the things that don’t affect who you will end up being”.

That is high school. That is what high school is. Just one teeny-tiny pot hole to step over in the road to becoming yourself.

XOXO,

NBNealie

P.S. I make myself available to all of you for a reason. If you have a friend that you feel should speak with me feel free to pass along my e-mail.

Reach out:

Some places you can contact to handle the stress of high school…

1.) Me: If for any reason you don’t have an adult figure in your life to help you through the process of transitioning to college or if you have parents that have never been to college and don’t quite understand the process let me help. Also, if you need help with scholarship essays, filling out college applications, or discussing a good college for you. You can always reach me at my personal e-mail: nothingbutnealie@yahoo.com.

2.) The National Hotline: If you need to talk or are concerned about someone else, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If someone is in immediate crisis, dial 911.

3.) LGBTQ – The Trevor Lifeline: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/866-488-7386 Suicide and crisis help line for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth (24/7).

4.) Crisis Text Line (National): Text SUPPORT to 741-741 (24/7).