It’s crazy to think that if I graduated with everyone else my age instead of dropping out, I would be celebrating 15 years since I’ve graduated. It’s crazy to think that high school was that long ago, and that life as a high school student is no way close to the way it was when I was in school. I would have loved virtual learning vs. public school. I was the loner and because of my autism, I couldn’t focus at all on my school work and knew it would have been insanely difficult to learn in that environment.
For those of you that have children starting high school this year, or are a high school student, I compiled pieces of advice that I would have loved to have as a high schooler.
Being Different is Fine
When everyone starts their first day of high school they want to fit in and be like everyone else. I did it in my freshman year and even my sophomore year since my family moved and I started in a new school. I went through a period both times where I tried to be like everyone else, from fashion to what they ate, and became a chameleon.
Once I learned to be myself, dress how I wanted to and became the poetry writing loner. Life made more sense I was actually happy. Nobody around me was into poetry and it was the one thing that made me who I was. When I let my writer side fly and wasn’t just a copy of whatever, my English teachers loved it. They said I had so much creativity. If I blended in and followed everyone’s leads, I don’t think I’d even blog.
If you’re having trouble learning bring it up
If I knew about my autism diagnosis as a teenager, I feel it would have made things a whole lot easier. If things are too loud for you to study, or the lights or too bright, whatever your issue is, bring it up with your guidance counselor if you have one. They can aid you on what step to take next and help you you with getting all your ducks in a row.
Always Dream
My dreams as a teenager changed a lot. If I stopped dreaming, I don’t think that I would have made strides as I have. Once I wanted to be a veterinarian, so I took Animal Science, I wanted to be a web developer, so then I took a class on photo editing, and the list goes on. I never got a job in any of the careers that I mentioned. But now that I look at my life in hind sight, I can build my own web pages,I can talk about farm animals and name breeds of the animals, and I love to edit photos when I’m bored. You won’t know if your dreams right for you unless you try.
Do not date if you don’t love and respect yourself first
This goes for anyone of any age, if you don’t have confidence, or don’t love yourself, you set your standards lower than they should be. Be strong love yourself, and enjoy who you are. You are a beautiful human being and worth being treated with respect and dignity.
Tour the school before you start, if at all possible
I am horrible at directions and maps usually don’t work well for me. I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten lost in high school, especially when I was starting new classes. I was late to class, not because I was socializing, but because I couldn’t find it the first week. If you can’t tour the school, try to make friends with someone who knows their way around the school.
Learn that some school nurses don’t care about you being sick
Sorry, not sorry, about the last piece of advice. But I’ve learned that some school nurses do not care about how you feel. My best example was one day I walked to the math classroom and remembered telling the teacher that I wanted to the nurse because I was going to puke. Before I went to the nurse I puked in the trash can. When I went to the nurse she was almost reluctant to send me home and told my grandma, “Jennifer claimed that she puked.” with sarcasm. Most of the time if there was any other illness, she’d give you an aspirin and a couple of saltine crackers and send you on your way. Yeah, that even happened when I had my first few cluster headaches. I was in so much pain, I couldn’t move and all I wanted to do was cry. The whole day I couldn’t focus because of the pain.
If your nurse is like the one I had and you’re having a day that you’re sick. Find a way to sneak in a phone call and call your parents, so they can call the school to pick you up.
School can be fun, it can be scary. But hopefully, with these few tips, you’ll be able to have an easier time navigating the world of high school.
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