Hey Maureen,

It seems like forever you’ve been in highschool, but trust me when I say it goes in a blink of an
eye. You might not know what you want in life yet, but just live life to the fullest and that
everything happens for a reason. Live according to your own rules because being a freshman is a
big deal especially when you’re fresh meat at a big high school. Here are a few things that I
believe you should learn on your journey in high school.

1. If you get confused make sure to ask questions!

Don’t think not asking questions will save you from the
embarrassment of possibly looking stupid. Teachers are
there to help you and guide you in a subject. Tutors may
be necessary for some classes, but don’t think that by
getting a tutor that you’re admitting that you’re stupid
because that’s not true. Everyone struggles at something
and you’re no different.

2. Nobody’s out to get you! Just because you get a bad grade or because you’re told no
doesn’t mean it comes from malicious intentions. As bad as it sounds you aren’t that
important to others. Stop getting anxious because you think you’re being singled out
since someone denied you something.

3. Self-care is not selfish. Take care of yourself first, so you can live a productive and
healthy life. Get serious about exercising, nutrition, and relationships to help better
yourself. Also, do stuff that excites you to become better at different activities. Pursue
your dreams no matter how crazy they may be because there's a
method to your madness.

4. Stop making excuses for toxic people in your life. Keep negative
people at a distance and you need to surround yourself with
positive people. Not everyone has your best interest at heart
because high school is everyone for themselves. During crossing
time expect people to bump into on purpose or because their
friend pushed them to be funny, so people are just weird and
watch out for that.

5. Don’t be afraid of trying new things and don’t limit yourself.

Try different things to form your own opinion. Most importantly question everything and
don’t take things at face value. Also, don’t let people limit you saying you can or can’t do
something.
6. If you want something do it yourself because nobody owes you anything. You’re
responsible for yourself and if you want something right then do it first. You’re not
entitled to anything, so don’t expect everything to be handed to you on a gold plater.
Instead work hard and EARN everything.

7. Don’t be afraid to drive. Ever since the accident you’ve sworn off
driving and just relied on other people. Driving might seem difficult for now,
but thankfully your parents were supportive and didn’t push you to do
something you’re scared of. Don’t worry though because you do end up getting
your license and a pretty awesome car.

8. Treat your parents better. Even though you respect and love your parents
saying “I love you” just for no reason will make them feel better since they are doing a
great job. Don’t think they say no to you going out to a party because they’re mad at you.
You're lucky to have parents that care and would do anything to keep you safe.

9. Move on from your mistakes and grudges. You’re probably never get
rid of holding grudges, but the least you could do is become more
understanding and empathetic. Negativity will cloud your brain if
you don’t start to let go and meditation will help you. Admit it
happened, learn from your mistakes, and move on.

10. Boys are gross, so don’t feel like you need to date to relate to your
friends! You see all your friends talking about boys and notice how
that affects their studies, but they claim “it’s the love of my life” and
see how far that works out for them. No guy is worth stopping your
life for, so don’t think you’re weird because you don’t want to date in high school.

11. Invest your money and stop spending money on stupid stuff because you think it’s cool
for the time being. You need to be less impulsive otherwise it will hurt your financial
future when you end up living in your parents basement because you can’t afford rent.
Money is not always the answer, but it will definitely make your life easier 10 years
down the line.

12. Stop being judgemental! Stop judging yourself and others

because we're all trying to simply live our best life. You’re
enough, so stop criticizing yourself because something didn’t go
your way. Judging others will get you nowhere because you don’t
know their life or the context of the situation. Becoming accepting
will lift the weight of negativity off your shoulders, so try to care
less about what others do.
13. I get that society is impatient, but just do everyone a favor and try. Being patient early on
will help you in school, college, and in the workplace. It will be painfully slow and may
seem like it’s not working, but please don’t give up. Nobody likes someone impatient
especially in the workplace.

14. Stop overanalyzing everything! Sometimes it’s okay to be

simple because all you do is create worry and second guess
yourself constantly. There’s no reason to get anxiety by just
thinking what you’re going to do later. Let life take the reins and
stop trying to control everyone and everything around you. People
don’t like bossy people that try to change everything to fit their
idealistic situation.

15. Admit you don't know everything and soon you'll come to
terms you can’t be the best at everything. Just because you’re not
number one in everything doesn’t mean you’re stupid, so if you
come to terms with that then you can try harder in the future. It’s
normal to not know everything and those that believe they know everything are probably
attention seekers.