Edwin DayYou’re Not What You Do, Or Who You Are, In High School
When I think back to my high school days, there are a couple things I remember more so than others: The crazy amount of homework, and the labels that teenagers like to attribute to each other.
Are you the star basketball player?
Or, the nerd?
The debate kid?
The gossip queen?
Maybe you’re the bully.
Maybe you’re the kid bullies pick on.
The STEM kid?
The “cool” kid?
The do-gooder charity fundraiser organizer?
The drama geek?
The kid who doesn’t care about school or grades?
The class clown?
You get the idea.
This can be frustrating about high school: It seems like everybody remembers everything. High school is a petri dish of anecdotes, rumors and gossip. Once a label has been attributed to you, it’s difficult to shed.
Even though it can feel like it, however, I promise that this doesn’t last forever.
Once high school ends, you get the opportunity to reinvent yourself; to rewrite the narrative of who you are and what you stand for. Many people have a difficult time in high school because of the way people see them, or how people misunderstand them. Whatever reputation one gets in high school, however, can simply fall off like a snake shedding its skin, and gets left behind on campus as soon as you leave that front gate for good.
The good thing about the rest of your life, in college and beyond, is that you get to reinvent yourself as many times as you like. Some of the world’s most famous celebrities are completely different from who they were in high school.
Can you guess who said some of these things about their high school experience?
A: "I remember when I was in school, the whole reason I started writing songs was because I was alone a lot of the time. I'd sit there in school and I'd be hearing people like, 'Oh my god, this party that we're going to is gonna be so awesome on Friday. Everyone's invited except for [me].'"
B: "I wasn't a heartthrob at school. I was a geek, I was into musical theater, which isn't perceived as the coolest thing. There were guys who were 6′1″ with beards and big muscles and I was a gawky 17-year-old, a skinny, awkward kid. I could never get into trouble like the rest of my friends; my parents were very strict and taught me good values."
C: "[I was] teased for being ugly, having a big nose, being annoying.'Your laugh is funny, you're weird, why do you always sing, …why do you do your make-up like that?' I didn't even want to go to school sometimes."
Answers:
A: Taylor Swift
B: Zac Efron
C: Lady Gaga
The point is, many people flourish when finally given the freedom to be who they are. Life after high school is filled with new ideas, perspectives and philosophies. After years of conforming to rules, school uniforms and codes of conduct, you’ll have the freedom to experiment with different ideals.
Whoever you were in high school can end on June 30th. Maybe you were who you were because that’s how others saw you and you felt like you had to play the role of bully, athlete, nerd or socialite.
Well, the world outside high school has no clue who you were inside it. You’re not what you do, or who you are, in high school.
Learn from your mistakes, and figure out what you want to do differently. Choose to be the best version of yourself, and then be that. The end of high school is simply the beginning of a new chapter in your life story.
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, your high school scores do not define you.
Your future success isn’t determined by your GPA, SAT score, or whether you got a 5 on the AP English Language & Composition test. Yes, I get it. For those first few months after high school everybody you know will probably fixate upon knowing what scores you and everybody else received.
Afterwards, however, something amazing happens: They move on.
While a high score is great and something to be proud of, it’s not guarantee that your life going forward will be smooth sailing; that elite colleges will beg you to attend their institution, or companies will throw high paying jobs at your feet.
Long-term accomplishment is about being resilient.
Similarly, low scores don’t relegate you to failure either. Sure, low scores don’t feel good, but if you really want to chase and achieve a goal, you’ll find another way to get there. Some people are simply late bloomers, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
See if you can guess who some of these famous late-blooming successes are:
A: This person’s early career was plagued with disappointments. At 30 years old, she was a divorced mother-of-two, clinically depressed, and living off of public assistance. During her lowest point, she began writing as an outlet and a way to heal. She sent her manuscript to 12 publishers and was rejected from all of them. A year later, she received the green-light from another publisher and the rest is history. Her story proves that sometimes your lowest point in life is often your greatest launching pad.
B: It wasn't until she was 40 years old that this person flirted with the idea of becoming a fashion designer. At 40, she started fresh and launched her now iconic bridal line and has never looked back. This goes to show that the career path you choose in your 20s isn't always the one that will garner success and fulfillment later on in life.
C: While known as one of the most intelligent people in the world with unrivaled contributions to computer software and technology, he ended up with a 2.20 GPA in high school before spending summers to try to improve it.
Answers:
A: J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series
B: Vera Wang
C: Bill Gates
So if you feel like your scores are too low, don’t despair, they don’t define you or your future. Live the life you want, and just remember that tomorrow is another day.