Newsymoms…if you could go back and talk to yourself as a high school freshman, what advice would you give?

I would tell freshman, 15-year-old me that it’s okay.

It’s okay to be nervous. It’s okay to feel like you don’t fit in at times. It’s okay for someone not to like you.
It’s okay to like someone that others do not. It’s okay to be friends with those “un-cool.” It’s okay to have your own style.

It’s okay to be your own person. It’s okay to sit alone. It’s okay to read a book instead of gossip.

It’s okay to try and get good grades. It’s okay not to always get good geades. It’s okay to be unique.

And, it’s not okay.

It’s not okay to make fun of others. It’s not okay to think you’re not good enough. It’s not okay to compare yourself to anyone else.

It’s not okay to take for your own gain. It’s not okay to give up. It’s not okay to give in.

It’s not okay to hate yourself. It’s not okay to hate anyone else.

Some say that ‘it’s only high school,’ and ‘what happens in high school doesn’t matter in the real world.’

That advice may be given with good intentions, but it is wrong. (In my opinion).

What happens in high school DOES matter in the real world.

How you treat someone affects who they are and who YOU are.

How you treat yourself affects high school you AND ‘real world’ you.

High school is a time to create memories that last a life time. It’s up to you to be strong to your character and who you are so that those are memories you are proud to reflect on.

-Be true to who you are.

-Your hair looks fine.

-Be kind, you never know what someone may be going through.

-Work hard in class. It DOES pay off in the end.

-Cherish every moment.

-It’s JUST a pimple!!

<3 Michaela

Here are some more pointers from those that have been there, done that: