YA GIRL IS FINALLY DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL!!! I’ll be graduating soon (in literally 2 weeks aaaah), so I decided to reflect on the experience and put this post together. Here are the 4 things I learned in high school (that’s not all about the maths and the sciences)!!
1. Give yourself some credit
After receiving a test paper with a low mark or hearing negative feedback from my research adviser about a thesis paper that I’ve been working so so hard on, I would understandably feel upset with myself, especially if it’s something I put a lot of effort in. Situations like these make me feel extremely distressed and leave my mind clouded with negative thoughts and emotions. In times like these, it is super important to give yourself some credit. Don’t discredit your achievements just because something didn’t go right! Remember your achievements! They don’t have to be big achievements but rather, things you’ve done that made you feel accomplished and fulfilled. Don’t focus on the things your shortcomings. Give yourself credit for your achievements and your abilities!
2. Find ways to love the ‘pain’
High school is hella tedious and routinely and for most of my high school days, I obviously was never excited to go through any of it. This lead to numerous absences and tardiness sanctions that messed with my conduct and overall academic standing. After my first two years of high school, I finally decided to find ways to love the ‘pain’. I decided to get up at 4am every day to cook myself a hearty meal for lunch so I would have something to look forward to during the day. In addition to this, I always took the time to rewrite my notes in the school library after classes because I loved using colorful pens and highlighters to make my notes look visually appealing, even if no one else would see them but myself. It’s things like these that seem small, but actually made the mundane high school routine actually bearable for me.
3. Give yourself a break
I don’t even know how many times I found myself breaking down in my room or in the school library because of assignments, readings, and tests. I also have ended up pulling multiple all-nighters to finish my thesis. One time, I even had to pull out my laptop in the middle of a family trip to do some research for another paper. I’ve spent so much of my time working my ass off to do well in terms of academics. Whenever I would have free time, I would still insist on doing schoolwork and whatnot. In the end, I would just feel overworked and too exhausted to do anything else and that’s the absolute worst thing you can do to yourself.
Be kind to yourself! Go on a milk tea date, put on a face mask, take a nap. Overworking yourself isn’t being productive. In fact, it even damages your productivity, so do yourself a favor and give yourself a break.
4. You don’t have to have everything figured out right now
Damn, this was probably the hardest thing I ever had to come to terms with. It took countless nights of crying and panicking for me to realize that it’s okay not to have everything figured out right at this second. When I was in middle school, I was set on becoming a musician. Then, I wanted to become a seismologist. Then, I found interest in Psychology when I was in 9th and 10th grade. I was so certain I was going to be a Psychologist until 11th grade where we had sudden introduction to Psychology lesson where we learned about the brain. There, I realized it wasn’t for me.
All my friends have been decided on what course they’ll be taking, and I felt immensely panicked and anxious about how undecided I am about my course, what school I’m going to take, what career I’m going to take on after university. At family gatherings, relatives would always ask me what I want to be considering I’m so close to graduating high school. I would always say I’m unsure yet, and that’s where the pressure gets even more intense and the “when I was your age, …” stories begin.
It took such a long while for me to realize that it’s okay to be undecided and uncertain about the future. For most of my senior year, I made the effort to talk to my friends, parents, and our school guidance counselor to ask them for help and advice. I journaled constantly. Through this experience, I learned more about myself and my personality and figured that maybe I would do well in the field of Communications. As for now, that’s really all I know and that’s okay. You have a whole life ahead of you, you have tons of time to figure things out :)
