The best is yet to come people.
Ahh high school. These four years were some of the most formative of your life—you had your first homecoming dance, your first real heartbreak, your first joint. It was in those hallways that you started to decide what kind of people you wanted to surround yourself with and what kind of person you wanted to be. But there was a time and a place for all that, and if you’ve already received your diploma, that time is in the past now. We applaud you quarterback, prom queen, and class pres—you truly reined supreme in the cafeteria, but all good things must come to end because no one wants to be that creepy grad who keeps showing up to the football games.
But hey, there’s nothing wrong with having enjoyed your four years, you can be assured that high school was not your peak if you…
1. Forget the FOMO
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Related: Lessons Learned in my First Semester
Back in the glory days, parties could be few and far between. Missing a house party was sure to leave you in the dark on the juicy gossip being mulled over in homeroom and the dish on who went to third base in Kyle’s parents’ bathroom. But even worse than being unable to attend was receiving no invite at all…those assholes. Nowadays if you wake up with a newsfeed of red solo cups, you shouldn’t sweat it. Sure, you want to see your own friends, but if another crew has a banger and you weren’t on the list, that’s just one less drunken conversation about your intended major that you have to have.
2. Let your demons die
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Related: How to Become Tough
The hallways of high school were like a minefield—not only did you have to deal with your own enemies, but those of your friends as well. But hey, we’re all in the real world now, and even though Becca stole your prom dress when you clearly bought it first, it’s about that time to stop cursing her name every time she comes up in conversation. When you could care less about all the petty bullshit that went down freshman through senior year, that’s when you know you’ve made it out.
3. Understand that high school events are for high schoolers
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Maybe senior year you all made vows to come back for just one more basketball game, or to crash the annual valentines party just for the mems. But hopefully upon marching across that graduation auditorium packed with overeager, sweaty parents, a thought struck you—I am so getting out of here. We all remember those alumni lingering for far too many years with us in the student section or sitting in the background of our parties just a little too eager to take pictures with the newly budding sophomore girls. Don’t be that.
High school was great, but there is a whole lot greater left to come. Sure remembering those shaping years of our lives can be nostalgic, but keep it at that: distant memories you can look back on, blur out the details you didn’t like, and give a little wistful sigh as you romanticize the height of your puberty.