well guys. I did it. I graduated from Timpview High School with honors and AP scholar cords. (this means I took x number of AP tests and got 3's on all of them? I don't even know. but it's a big enough deal to get me some cords.) the ceremony was....long. I'm pretty sure it was great, but considering the fact that people with ADHD don't do well in long ceremonies whatsoever, I lost my patience 5 minutes in. but it was probably wonderful for those humans who actually have an attention span. everyone has asked me how it feels to be a graduate. to be honest, it's mostly just weird and now I have to find a job and learn how to do everything for myself before I move out. but I thought I would share some pieces of advice, some good experiences, some embarrassing experiences, some mistakes and regrets, and what I will take and leave from my senior year of high school. if you are looking for a sentimental post about how life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it, then this isn't the place. (I LOVE Ferris Bueller, but this isn't the place to be mushy.) so, without further ado:
HOW TO DO SENIOR YEAR (or life in general) RIGHT
1. GO TO CLASS. JUST DO IT. OK? it is a really hard habit to break, and making up assignments is not worth it. I would give you guys a lecture, but I want to be nice. Don't pull a Ferris Bueller every day.
3. Make new friends, but keep the old. my senior year, I ended up hanging out with a lot of the people that I went to elementary school with, and it was just so fun to reminisce with them about Rock Canyon Elementary school and being rebels on the playground by annoying the recess guards, the 5th grade kickball tournament, singing all 6 minutes of Bohemian Rhapsody at the 5th grade karaoke party just to prove that I knew all the words, the 6th grade student teacher with weird eyebrows who smelled funny, the medieval feast, and all the other good times that I can't name off the top of my head. I went to homecoming with the boy who got in trouble for taking off his shoes in first grade. I also went to Sadie Hawkins, Prom, and Last Chance with boys I had known since elementary school, and it was so much fun to experience high school with the people who I grew up with. so, while new friends are great, there is just something fun about growing up with people!
4. Don't let rankings define you. when people would ask me how I was doing in tennis, I would say, "Really great! I've only lost to Orem and that one girl in St George!" and then they would say "so you're almost undefeated! what's your ranking?" and I would say, "3rd JV singles." and if they were ignorant, they would say, "but if you're that good, you should play varsity!" well, that's not how tennis works. EVERY SPOT ON THE TEAM is important. we all have to try out best! being 3rd JV singles is a very important position. if one of the 2 JV singles girls ranked higher than me wins, but the other one loses, then it's up to me to get that JV singles win! just because I'm not on varsity doesn't mean I have to lose! when I was in St George with the Varsity and the rest of competing JV, one of the workers at the country club was watching me beat this girl 6-0, 6-2 and then asked me what school I went to. I said, "Timpview" and she said, "so that's why you're playing JV! Timpview's varsity is exceptional, and when JV has players as good as you, then that says a lot about the rest of the team. you have a solid team!" so moral of the story, no matter what ranking you are, no matter what position you play, do your best because YOU ARE IMPORTANT!
5. BE CLUTCH. being clutch means to perform well, even under pressure. I had a hard time with this my sophomore season, but by my senior season I got pretty good at being clutch. but the key to being clutch is not to focus on the pressure, and to get in the zone. my most devastating loss was not because my opponent outplayed me, not because I was tired, but because I wasn't clutch. it was a really hot day in St. George, and it was at 2:30, the hottest time of the day. my opponent had just played another match before me, and I thought I could wear her out. but since I was under that pressure to wear her out, I kept missing. she actually almost forfeited due to heat exhaustion, so I thought it would be a really easy win. I was more consistent, my form was better. but I wasn't clutch. I froze. and she beat me. and I cried more about losing than she did about heat exhaustion (which was a lot.) so be clutch, in sports, performances, and on tests. don't give in to the pressure!
6. Go to football games. go to basketball games. go to whatever sport you can. go to orchestra concerts. JUST SHOW YOUR SUPPORT. YOU WILL REGRET STAYING AT HOME. but sometimes, if you have too much homework, then stay home.
7. Don't tell cheerleaders that their sport isn't a sport. they will hate you forever. (I never did this, but I watched it happen.) many of them can't even hold a tennis racket correctly, but they can do a back handspring, which I have never been able to do. I was able to get away with pretending I was a cheerleader for 20 minutes for my senior prank though!
8. Sometimes you crash the car; sometimes you get crashed into. This was not an easy lesson to learn, and I had to give my dad the car for a few days until I was able to prove that I could drive responsibly and clean up the paint scrapes. to make a long story short, I had never gotten in an accident since I got my license. then one day, when I was driving home from tennis, I hit one car in the parking lot and another going down the hill. I was freaking out and crying and I probably said a few swear words, but neither person I hit called the police and they were both really nice. (my dad was more upset than they were.) 4 months later, one of my good friends hit me in the parking lot and my first instinct was to swear at her and yell at her for not paying attention and forgetting to use her brakes. but I remembered that I was in her same situation 4 months earlier, and neither person I hit got angry at me, so I just told her, "you're good. I won't call the police. just use your breaks next time!" and we are still friends. so pretty much, always be kind, even when your friends hits your car.
9. Comparison is the thief of joy. my best friend and I both play piano. we are both really good, but she is better than me and was getting a lot of recognition for her skills, while my choir teacher told me I was "sub-par" and really hurt my feelings. I was really angry for a while, but then I realized that my friend practices 3-4 hours every day at least, and I was using those hours in my day to play tennis instead. also, she doesn't have ADHD and has the ability to sit at the piano without burning out. I can only last 1-2 hours with breaks in between. so I re-evaluated and realized that considering my circumstances, I was doing great. so then I was able to appreciate her talents and abilities without comparing myself to her.
10. Being an individualist has pros and cons, as well as being a groupie. I am a real individualist. I have many good friends, but I don't hang out with the same people every day. I do have a few close friends that I try to eat lunch with more than once a week, but when I go to parties or games, I go in my own car by myself and just meet up with people, rather than go with 3 or 4 friends that I have been hanging out with all day. I like this because I have many different friends, but it can be hard because I don't always get invited to hang out with people. it's not because they don't like me; it's because they mostly hang out with the same people every day and I join in every once in a while. being a groupie can provide more security, but in my mind, it's just not fun being with the same people ALL THE TIME. but to each their own.
12. Listen to good music in the morning. as mentioned above, I do love The Smiths. but I can't listen to them in the morning or else I am depressed for the rest of the day. after going through all my music library, I do best when I listen to Queen in the mornings. My family raised me on Queen, and I have nothing but good memories when I listen to them, not to mention Freddie Mercury was probably one of the most talented musicians ever to have lived. "Don't Stop Me Now" is the only song that could possibly pump me up for going to 6-7 hours of school. as a result, I am in a much better mood for the rest of the day, which is really hard for seniors.
13. Don't be a Teacher's Pet, but don't be that kid that administration can't wait to see graduate. no one likes Teacher's Pets except for teachers. you will lose all your friends. some teachers do like a little sass! make them laugh! but don't do it excessively, or else they will hate you and get tired of you. figure out what the right amount is.
14. Please, just don't be that kid who is "so over" everything. you hate high school? you hate everyone? cool. everyone hates you too!
15. Have fun, but don't break the law or do anything that would look bad on college applications. College is tough. So while it is good to have fun in high school, just don't break the law. What is more important, having a good story to tell your kids and going to a not-so-good college, or going to a great college and getting a good job and having a good future while still having a good time?
16. Sparknotes will save your life. But you have to read the book too. I have had to read many books that I didn't choose to read. I didn't understand them, and I didn't like them. So I read the Sparknotes instead, which worked until my teacher made a whole quiz based on quotes from the reading. So, I adopted my new strategy. Read the Sparknotes first, and PRINT THEM OUT FOR REFERENCE when you actually do the reading. they will help clear up anything that doesn't make sense in the book. it's a lot of work, but it will help you understand a lot better than if you had just read Sparknotes, or if you had just read the book.
17. Don't cheat your way through high school. if you didn't do any work to learn anything before the test, and then you have to take it (without anyone's help), then you're screwed. and so is your grade. and so are your college applications!
18. Be honest with your parents. believe me. I've learned not only from experience but also from watching my younger siblings. if you do something bad and they ask you, it's better to be upfront, honest, and apologetic with them and get the smaller punishment, than to lie to them and have them find out later and get the bigger punishment. also, if you are honest with them, they will trust you and give you a later curfew.
19. Be patient. everyone is going through the same thing you are. they are applying to college. some of them are going on missions. some of them are struggling to turn in all their assignments on time. so if anyone gets mad at you for no reason, they are probably just as stressed as you are.
20. Don't focus too much on the future. this is your senior year. HAVE FUN WITH IT! don't be too caught up in getting ready for college and moving out. HAVE FUN! do stuff with your friends. go to games. do everything I mentioned on this list. get good grades. don't skip class. and it's good to prepare for college. but it shouldn't be your life. HAVE A GOOD TIME!
