What Every High School Student Needs To Know

     This morning I rolled my lazy butt out of bed at around 1:45 P.M. and went out to get some breakfast or lunch or whatever it should be called when you eat at that time. On my way to the food court, I saw a group of high school kids and their parents going on a campus tour. This isn't the first time I've seen campus tours going on, but it's still so weird to me that I was taking tours of Temple about a year ago or so. And now I'd say I'm very accustomed to living here. One year doesn't even seem like it's that long of a time!

     To everyone still in high school, regardless of what you think now, things are going to change after you graduate. Not everything, but things will change. Ask anybody that's already graduated. It doesn't matter if you're going to school across the country, twenty minutes away from home, or if you're not even going to school at all. This is a thought that's hit me like a huge metaphorical truck as of late. 
     There aren't many things in my life that are the same now as they were a year ago. Some of these changes are good, some I could have done without. Although it's cheaper in most cases to go to school in-state, I know I would have been absolutely miserable if I stayed in Connecticut and went to one of those "suitcase colleges" where everybody goes back home on the weekends. I can easily say that Philadelphia is polar opposite from my hometown in Connecticut. Within the three months I've been here, I've met so many different types of people. I've learned new things about my personality and interests. I've taken the initiative to do things myself. None of these things would have ever happened unless I experienced life outside of the tiny bubble that is my hometown. The environment I'm living in has completely changed and that's exactly what I wanted.
     Along with the many good changes came the not-so-good ones. Some can be expected: I miss being able to cook my own food, being able to eat food and not having to anticipate a stomach ache afterwards, the amount of work I get per week is tremendously higher than it was in high school, and I'm not able to see my friends from home unless it's some kind of important holiday. I was beyond confident that my high school relationship would work out, but that hasn't exactly gone as I planned it would. I'm going to be vague about this in particular because this isn't livejournal and it's my business. Basically, if I could go back in time, I'd tell my naive high school self that I needed to be more open-minded about the possibility of certain things not working out the way I wanted them to.
     Anybody trying to decide where to go to school right now, I wouldn't say to go as far away from your town as possible. I'm completely aware that what's right for me may not be what's right for someone else. What I would say is to get out of the environment you're so used to living in, especially if you've been living in the same town your whole life. I personally felt like I'd be depriving myself if I didn't go extremely far from my hometown.
     One last thing I think is important is to not settle on a school that's close to your significant other solely because you don't want to be far from them. People need to learn to put themselves first when it comes to such a huge decision such as choosing where they're going to live for the next several years of their lives. If things are meant to be, they'll find a way. If things don't work out, you're stuck at a school that makes you unhappy. Please know that I think you're an idiot if that is/was the deciding factor for you. 


TL;DR - Brace yourself for changes because they're going to happen whether you like it or not, choose a school that puts you outside of your comfort zone, and if you choose a school just so you can be close to your boyfriend/girlfriend, I think you're stupid.