As part of being a 2025 high school graduate, my 3 years of high school (in Alberta) has come to end. For me, these past 3 years were filled with incredible friends; melodramatic interactions and academic stress; and heartwarming and heartbreaking memories. Whenever high school is mentioned, one of the most common descriptions about it is that it goes by fast. Truth be told, it really does; as one that had just graduated, the first day still feels like yesterday.
Before I graduate out of this blogging program, I hope that you too can have a wonderful high school experience that lasts a lifetime. This blog will contain 5 pieces of advice for high school. While they don’t necessarily have to apply to everyone, I hope that at least one will have enhanced your high school life.
1. Connect with the people around you
Part of the high school experience is that you are able to meet and become familiar with the people around you. Unlike post-secondary, many high schoolers come from similar surronding elementary and junior high schools. Therefore, the majority of high schoolers are familiar with one another, able to develop and thrive during high school. Even if this is beyond your comfort zone, connecting with these people in any way – this could be through clubs, class participation, or even just a somple greeting – can fill your high school memories with lots of bonds and memories.
2. Challenge yourself with certain classes
These classes don’t have to be prestigious or rigorous like AP and IB classes. They could be theatre, language, or career related (like mechanics and foods). Going out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself into new and/or harder things adds to the high school experience. In the end, you’d only be leaving those classes feeling rewarded. Even if you drop out, you would end up knowing it is not for you, giving you a better idea for what is.
3. Develop as much lifelong skills as possible
High school usually happens before adulthood. It is a safe haven for you to develop and adapt to as much life skills as possible. These could range from social skills, time-management, concentration, to balancing life. Before things start to stack up and get more serious, making yourself a better person alleviates that transition into adulthood.
4. Understand when to take breaks
It is understandable to not be able to juggle between academics, friends, extracurriculars, and other commitments. To be honest, those moments will happen throughout life so struggling with them is normal. In high school, times do become stressful and unbearable, especially during exam season. However, those times teach us that part of the balance that we need in life requires breaks; we need time for ourselves, away from life’s troubles. When times get rough, simple breaks like eating a snack, walking outside, answering that person’s message, will make those times easier. Additionally, getting into that habit makes future occassions more tolerable.
5. Create as many memories as possible!
Last but not least, from the friends to classes to self-care, high school only lasts 3 years. With that short amount of time, a lot of memories can be carried forward. Someday, those simple moments of hanging out at one’s house every week could turn into every year. Once graduation comes up, so will the final opportunities to make high school an unforgettable part of life. Whether it be deciding to go to the dance alone or exploring the city with friends, the unfortunate truth is that those moments will soon be part of “the good old days.”
On top of that, break your comfort zone! The advantage of having such a short amount of time is that embarassing moments are also short. Even if you know you’ll have a strong recollection of those in the future, others will not. High school will inevitably have those exciting and embarassing moments, but they will all become an incredible memory to look back at. So create as much of them as you can!
Closing
Despite how frightening the entrance may have been, high school is an exciting place. Once it is over, it will all be a bittersweet feeling, knowing that you can be glad that certain things happened in there. High school is a part of many milestones; graduation is only a checkpoint to the potential that we all have. It is true that life moves on, but moving forward with a memorable high school experience is an incredible blessing that connects childhood to developing adulthood.
TL;DR
High school only lasts 3 years and here are some tips into making the most out of it.
1. Connect with the people around you
2. Challenge yourself with certain classes (doesn’t have to be rigorous – it could challenge certain skills, like theatre, language, and career-related classes)
3. Develop as much lifelong skills as possible
4. Understand when to take breaks
5. Create as many memories as possible!
With these, high school not only challenges you to become the best that you can be, but ensures that you can thrive forward in life with awesome memories! Graduation may only be a checkpoint of your potential, but having amazing high school experiences is a blessing that connects childhood and developing adulthood for life.