The day finally came. The day that is both an ending and a beginning. The day that finally made all of the essays, busy work, homework, sleep deprivation, cold classrooms, equations, and bad school lunches pay off. The day that all of my teachers, peers, family members, and friends have been talking about for THIRTEEN DARN YEARS.
High school graduation.
Like I said before, it is an ending and a beginning for everyone. We are all together from the time we are five years old to the big eighteen years old. Where I live, everyone knows everyone (along with all of their business), we are in classes with the exact same people every semester, so we basically grew up as a family. It’s my favorite thing about Franklin County. But the strangest feeling has been realizing that we aren’t ALL going to be together again! It’s an ending to the wonderful memories we’ve all made together. But, it’s also a beginning to our future. We will all go our separate ways, and we will take on everything that life is going to throw our way. Four years ago, there’s no way any of us could go out into the real world and live the best, most awesome life we could. Thankfully, high school has taught me a few lessons, and I am forever thankful for them...
1. People will surprise you.
As teenagers, we sometimes have some harsh first impressions. First impressions aren’t avoidable, of course, but we are constantly being compared… therefore, we compare ourselves to others. The funny thing is, almost 90% of people I’m close friends with now are completely different than I expected them to be after the first impression. You may think one girl is snobby, but really she ends up being the sweetest person you know. At the same time, you may see her as a kind, innocent person, but you find out she’s cheated on her three boyfriends, stolen $300 from a gas station, and is part of a gang (I am NOT speaking from firsthand experience, people). Get to know someone before you make assumptions, you will find your true friends!
 |
| (None of those assumptions were about anyone pictured here, these are just some of my true friends!) |
2. Make a point to say “yes” to fun things.
I will proudly admit that laziness has gotten in the way of me making some awesome memories with my friends over the past four years. I have seriously stayed at home because “I had homework,” or rather… I didn’t want to change out of my pajamas. Once I started getting out of that state, my life was 30,000 times happier! Just say YES, and you will get a whole lot more out of this little life.
3. People are much more kind to each other than expected.
Our generation is so much more accepting of people, whether they are black, white, gay, straight, atheist, Christian, drug users, non-drug users, drinkers, non-drinkers, WHATEVER. We don’t always agree with everyone else’s lifestyles, we just accept each other as people. That’s the beautiful thing I love about people my age - we are more kind than we are given credit for! We just love each other, no matter our beliefs. Ironically, this is what God asks us to do in the Bible… He asks us to just LOVE each other!
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
-John 13:34-35 (NIV)
4. Fully ENJOY the people that make you happy.
Listen to them. Talk to them. Laugh with them. Sing with them. Go to Zaxby’s with them. Agree with them. Tell jokes with them. Go camping with them. Hug them. Make videos with them. Make s’mores with them. Compliment them. Pray with them. Have a Walmart scavenger hunt with them. Go bowling with them. Dance with them. Be stupid with them. ENJOY THEM!
5. Participate.
I’m not talking about extra-curriculars, even though those are awesome, too. But just participate in class, in assemblies, in volunteering opportunities, in clubs, anything! Get involved with your school. It makes you feel more connected and “in the know” with what’s going on! It’s fun to have a group of people who are involved in the same thing as you, don’t let that opportunity slip by!
6. Take a class you wouldn’t normally take - just for the heck of it.
I took a healthcare class last semester, just because I wanted to... and a little bit because my boyfriend’s mom taught it. I had thought about becoming an occupational therapist, but I still had other options. I didn’t want to have a career in the big time medical field. I don’t like blood. I just thought, “Hey, this’ll be interesting!” At the end of that class, I had met all sorts of interesting people and I’m not opposed to a medical career at all! I’m set on occupational therapy now, but my two backup jobs are now BOTH medical-related. It’s all thanks to a class I took “just for the heck of it!”
 |
| I also took a Psychology class for fun, I met all sorts of interesting people... |
7. Tell everyone how much they mean to you.
The class of 2015 at lost three guys that meant the world to everyone. All three losses were so unexpected, and the entire school was incredibly shocked and of course, devastated. It made us all so much closer, because we had to be there for each other when we were hurting. It made us all realize that we don’t know when it’s our time to go, and we all learned to tell each other how we feel. Never take anyone for granted.
8. Do what you love.
If you aren’t doing the activity that makes you feel that overwhelming sense of joy, then what’s the point?! It doesn’t matter what other people think - I mean, I do DRAMA. Drama people are WEIRD. But who cares?! I am happy on stage, and I’m surrounded by people that have the same passion as I do.
9. Be bold and stick up for people.
Don’t let bullies bully. It’s that simple. You will feel better about yourself, the person who is getting bullied won’t feel alone, and the bullies will feel bad about themselves and they will stop. Break the chain!
10. It’s okay to change your mind.
At the start of my freshman year, I was set on NOT going to the University of North Georgia… just because my parents went there! I wanted something new and different, and I had been to Dahlonega enough to not feel like I was in a “different” place. But once I visited the campus my junior year, I fell in love. I felt at home. As much as I hated to admit it, my mind was basically made up that I was going to be going to the ONE school I didn’t really even want to consider! But it’s okay. As long as you feel like you’re doing what’s best for you, it doesn’t matter what has happened in the past. Hey, it means that you really should be changing your mind, if you went from an absolute NO to an absolute YES!
11. Trust that God’s plan is better than yours.
No matter how hard we try to convince ourselves that we know what the best move is: God knows how our life is going to play out and he will take us on the most rewarding path to get us there. There have been situations in my high school life (whether it’s a class, a relationship, or a friend) where I have gotten so ANGRY because things don’t play out how I (emphasis on “I”) would have made it work. But, now I’m seeing where some friendships or relationships fell apart so others could fall together. Only God knew that would happen, and that’s shown me that I just have to TRUST HIM. Trust what He is doing and all will be well!
As you can tell, most of my high school career was focused on the people around me. That’s what high school is though, it’s the people. So, my overall advice: Be a friend to everyone. I will try to remember my own advice next year at college, but I wouldn’t definitely mind if anyone reading this would say a prayer for me! The past four years of my life were unbelievable, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me in the future!
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
-Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”
-Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.”
-Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
-Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
No comments:
Post a Comment