Not Like the Movies

Soon, I’ll be living 1,885.3 miles away from where I’ve lived since I was born. Even though I’ll be physically far away, I want to leave some wisdom here so it can be trapped in these pages for you to take with you. 

Here’s the thing: high school is a movie. It’s an action, drama, romance, and thriller movie where the 15-18-year-olds are played by 35-year-olds with fully formed frontal lobes and five o’clock shadows. Your inner monologue is exposed in a voice-over on a montage of time passing, and—most importantly—this movie is the most important movie you’ll ever live through in your whole entire life. 

All jokes aside, over the last four years, I’ve learned how important it is to breathe, to relax. Don’t put so much pressure on how your life compares to movies, TV shows and songs about high school. While you’re in the thick of it, it can feel like these four years will determine what the rest of your life will be, but they don’t have to; it can feel like these have to be the best years you’ve lived yet, but they don’t have to be. I know I haven’t graduated just yet, but being so close to a life beyond high school has opened my eyes to how much more there is to live. I don’t think anyone leaves high school as the same person they were when they began high school, and I encourage you to see the beauty in that.