We survived
I, Lily, honestly can’t believe I’m graduating high school already! Looking back at my four years at West, I realize how much I’ve grown. Everyone always says that it goes by in the blink of an eye, but I didn’t actually believe that phrase until now, with just a few days until I walk across the stage. I’ve learned to soak in every single moment, the good and the bad. When I stop for a minute to look around at the people in my grade, I realize that we all made it together.
Well holy moly guacamole, I, Ella, am graduating high school in a few days too! As I reminisce about my school journey, I can’t help but be reminded of the “I Survived” book series I spent hours reading in second grade. While I didn’t live through the San Francisco Earthquake or Hurricane Katrina, I did survive West High, and let me tell you — it was a whirlwind. However, a few pieces of advice helped Lily and me get through it, so here are Ella De Young and Lily Prochaska’s high school survival tips:
Grades are not everything — you’ve probably heard this numerous times already, but it is so very true — making connections is so much more beneficial than having perfect grades.
Once in a while, go outside when the weather is nice even if you don’t feel like you have time.
Only have a full schedule when you’re a freshman or a sophomore. We learned this the hard way as we didn’t follow this tip, but now having made it through high school, we’ve realized that getting through each day of school would have been a whole lot easier if we had a break during the day. We recommend everyone make room for an open period during their junior and senior years.
Do not do things just because everyone else is doing them. You will experience a lot of peer pressure throughout high school, but you know what is right for you and what you are comfortable with, so trust your gut and stay true to yourself.
Be bold and join a club, activity or sport — through joining West Side Story, we made some of our closest friends and developed our abilities to network and write meaningful stories. Being part of a club you are passionate about makes high school way more enjoyable.
You should take time to get to know your teachers and develop good relationships with them. Not only are the teachers at West exceptional in their ability to teach all of us crazy kids, but also they have amazing stories and life advice.
Eat lunch every day — too many times, we would skip lunch to study more for a test we had that day. However, that is a recipe for disaster as you need food to stay focused and be productive.
When you have good music by your side, almost anything is possible, so go on and make that fire playlist, and feel free to listen to it every day all day!
Hip hip hooray, celebrate those happy days! Be proud of your accomplishments and realize that while not every day is a good day, there is a good moment in every day.
Sleep! We’re ending our list with this advice because sleep is very important. We suggest that every person gets at least seven hours of sleep per night — you’ll feel so much better.