#6 "Choices Determine Destiny"

I don't feel the need to write on this blog very often.

So...,what's the point?

Let me make this clear. Everything I write, everything I put on here is the things I witness, the things that I believe teens, adults, and humanity as a whole need to work on, and to be honest, it all starts in high school.

We determine our destinies when we're young. Our mistakes, our challenges, our successes, and our weakness are determined in this stage of life whether we like it or not. Can we change from that immature teenager into something great and different? Of course. Are we going to face bigger and more life altering things when later in life? Sure, for some. But it's those things that happen to us when we're young, those memories that we gain when we're impressionable and vulnerable, those are the things we cherish or despise the most.

For those teens reading this now, here's a piece of advice from someone who is officially half way through the torture more commonly known as high school:

#6 - Live in the moment. People are going to tell you all your life that it will only get harder, and it will but don't let that determine how you live now. Make mistakes, face your fears, make your weakness an advantage and never let anyone tell you that who you are now isn't good enough. You already know that, and the next step is to do the best you can to prove them wrong. Nobody ever learned anything by hiding in the shadows. Learn how to make good decisions, learn how to calculate a situation both mentally and physically and achieve your goals. 

Remember, your greatest enemy is yourself.

(That's a pretty good way to start my junior year if I do say so myself ;) )

The Struggle is Real

We started school last Thursday (I know, who starts school in the middle of August, at the end of the week?) and I've noticed just a few things that have happened or changed in between Freshman (9) and Sophomore (10) years. 

First off: Yes, the boys are taller. Yes, their voices are deeper. Yes, it is SSOOO much better (too bad their attitudes haven't improved). 

Next: Health class sucks. Enough said.

Lastly: You begin to feel the pain of every sophomore, junior and senior when it comes to the matter of freshman. To you freshies, you cause me stress. I've been in school for four days and you are turning my hair gray. Stop. Just stop.

So I don't really have a tip today just a few observations. I'll get back to you in a few days ;) 

#5 Our Inviolable Tendency to Fail

From the moment we are sturdy enough to take our first steps, we inevitably and irrevocably fail. It's called life and if you don't get used to it, you are going to have a very long, very disappointing time in this world. 

We all know that failing will not move you from square one, but neither will giving up, which is the common response to our problems. Speaking from a personal perspective, sometimes I get so frustrated with failing that I end up chucking something across the room. It's a normal human reaction.

Recently, I've been attempting something that is very important to me and it seems that no matter how hard I try, no matter how I prepare myself, I just. Keep. Failing. and my pride seems to be taking the worst of it. Pride is such a traffic creator, always blinding you until it either overrides your thoughts or is succumbed by them. It's a very stupid thing.

My point in this is to simply point out that pride and failing don't go hand in hand, yet they always find themselves in each other's company. I can say it for myself and, even though an ego isn't the best thing to acquire, I hope you can see it in you. Because despite the trouble being proud can get you in, it's the only thing picking you up and encouraging you to try again.

Thomas Edison once said concerning the invention of the lightbulb, "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have simply successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a lightbulb."

So I leave with you, number 5.

#5: You're gonna fail. Suck it up, pick yourself up, brush yourself off and try again. If Edison had let failing get in the way of his dedication, we'd all still be using candles. Just because something gets hard, doesn't mean it's impossible. So, yeah, you're gonna fail. Face it now. You only truly fail when you give up. 

#4 The Intellect Commonly Known as Stupidity

Let's get honest here; people are stupid. Teenagers are stupid. School is stupid. Our peers are just plain stupid. No, I'm not mad at society or humanity, I'm simply putting the facts out for everyone to look at. It is human nature to be stupid.

Now, what does this have to do with our high school experience, you may ask? Everything.

We like to walk around thinking that life will be okay or you're too invisible for people to judge you. But the reality is, no one is invisible. You're only as see though as you make yourself but never transparent. 

You may think that humanity is too stupid to change, that they'll see right through you no matter what, that being a teen or still a high school student will all of a sudden lessen your effect on the world; I got a news flash for you: it starts now. It starts today. 

I'm a writer. I'm a sophomore in high school. I'm still a kid. But I plan to inspire the world, kid or not. You will always be too young if you keep telling yourself that. Always just one more step to invisible if you see yourself that way. YOU are here for a reason.

Thomas Edison was one man. George Washington was one man. Susan B. Anthony, Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, Albert Einstein, John Wilkes Booth, etc, were all just one person and they influenced the world, whether in a good way or a bad one, they changed humanity. Some of them have maybe even made us a little less stupid. 

So my 4th instruction today is:

#4: Life is what you make of it. Don't let your age, your homework, human stupidity, or anyone change that(Yes, you still have to do your homework). YOU can make this world a better place. YOU could go down in history. YOU are tomorrow, if you'll stop looking in the mirror and seeing nothing worth while. YOU are NOT invisible, so go out and sing it to the world, cause you only live once. 

  

#3

Part of the "High School Experience", as we all know, is the precious months of summer in between. Now, don't get me wrong, I like summer as much as the next girl but am I the only one who finds it a little...boring, if you know what I mean? I'm not talking to those people who's summers are booked from the moment they leave the school building to the beginning of the next school year but what about those of us who are sitting at home reading and watching T.V. cause we have nothing better to do with our lives? 

Sorry about that little rant, those will happen from time to time. 

Anyway, what about those people who are sitting around bored out of their mind? (Not that I have a particular problem with reading) I think we all have to admit that at least once in our lives, we actually WANT school to start, for whatever reason. Well have no fear. 

 

#3: The school gives us summer so that they can trick us into wanting to come back. It's a messed up form of reverse psychology and it works very well. Don't freak out if you have symptoms like boredom, stress for absolutely no reason, longing for a math worksheet, the urge to read Great Expectations for fun, finding yourself cleaning out your backpack much more than necessary, or reading over old homework assignments. These symptoms are all completely natural.  

#2

Okay, maybe I need to clarify a few things. I just finished my Freshman year in high school. Get it, got it, good. Anyway...

The last day of school is always a mixture of happiness and sadness. Happy because, well, schools over two and a half months. Sad because all those people that we actually like, we won't see for two and a half months. This thus comes with many mixed emotions that often result in us hugging a pillow in our room pondering the meaning of life (or is that just me?). 

#2-Feelings of confusion, guilt, excitement, freedom, sadness, nonsocialable, sleepiness, and daringness to travel into the beyond are all perfectly normal symptoms for the last day of school. They will quickly escalate to boredom, anticipation, and longing for homework. (Unless you're summers are like Phineas and Ferb; than be sure to wave to me from the moon.) Either way, whether for good or ill, school will be back sooner than you think. 

It's Called High School/ #1

Many of you out there might be wondering, "Why does this blog exist?" "Who cares about some teen's life?" "WHY AM I READING THIS!!??" And the answer is....

Because the thing formally known as "High School" is something we all have to slave through and, lets be honest, it can really suck at times. No one is immune, no matter how much we want to be, from the drama, cursing, sleepless nights and countless failed assignments. What can I say? It's just a part of life. High School is NOT easy and it just gets harder. 

So, as I currently endure through it, I'm going to write some...tips I guess you could say on how to make it, even if it is only a little bit, easier. 

First off, I just finished my Freshman year so most ya'll out there will probably be thinking, "What does she know?" or "Oh, she ain't seen nothin' yet." and you're right, I haven't. But I will. So the first tip I leave with you today is this: 

#1 - NEVER, for ANY circumstance, believe that High School will be easy. You're gonna have to work whether you like it or not. If you wonder why you're failing, ask yourself if you're really trying your hardest. I know some people just are not good at a certain subject but hey, maybe they just told themselves that they couldn't do it. You're attitude going into all this is key to the outcome of all of this. You're gonna make mistakes, just take the responsibility to make those mistakes successes.
(Yes, I know the sign says Middle School; this was the last day of junior high/almost freshman)