On High School

"You get a strange feeling when you are about to leave a place. Like you'll not only miss the people you love, but you'll miss the person you are now, at this time and place, because you'll never be this way ever again."- Azar Nafisi

The things that matter the most always turn out right in the end. So maybe the things that go wrong or don't work out really only mattered for a short time anyways.

Anything can happen. You can struggle (and struggle......) in a class you thought would be so easy. You can wait for something to materialize and watch it fall to pieces. You can lose people very close to you unexpectedly. Life is like that, and unfortunately, high school is too. But always remember, anything can happen.

Boys will come and go, but girlfriends are forever. I never dated or "talked" to anyone and never went to prom either and my senior homecoming (you can pick your jaw up off the floor now). And no, I don't feel like I missed out on anything. I have wonderful guy friends that I wouldn't trade for the world and while being the eternal third wheel was/is not fun at times, I've never had to avoid any boy in my grade either. I am the guy's girl and it's always better in my opinion to hold their respect. My best girls (you know who you are) are the ones I have stuck it out with practically my entire life. We may have drifted at parts, but it's funny how the right friends always come back to you.

Don't do the things you think you should do. Do the things you want to do, when you want to do them, and the way you want them done.

Be who you are and be in love with yourself. This took me lots of tears and three long years to figure out that people actually liked the more YSPy side of me and that I was well liked. Self-esteem was something I really did struggle with for awhile, and I do wish that I had realized sooner that people will still love you even if you think you're really weird. 

On the flip side, keep changing. Try new things, talk to new people, read a different book, take a challenging class. My best friends now are people I once thought were way cooler than me (and yes, I used to be that shallow. Shame on you, little Royar).  Strike up a conversation with random people. Say hi to everyone you pass in the hall. Some of my best friends now are people I thought were too cool to talk to a loser like me didn't even talk to at the beginning of senior year.

The days and nights that turn out not in your favor are there to remind you of how good it feels like when it all falls into place.

Find your rock. Your rock should not be a person; it should be something that will never change. It makes you come alive and fulfills whatever your passion. Exercise is that rock for me, and at the lowest times in my life I've turned to it. The darkest times in my high school years were definitely the times I wasn't being active. No matter what was happening in my life or who my friends were that year, running was always the same. One of my biggest regrets of high school was not running cross country all six years and quitting lacrosse in tenth grade. I truly wish I hadn't given up. 

Grades matter, but what you learn and how you use it matters most in the long run. Maybe I never will have to use my knowledge of Ronald Reagan's initial bid for the governorship of California or do a statistical ANOVA again, but I firmly believe that what you learn about learning and yourself in the classroom are what matters most. I know how to push myself to learn things and how to adapt to teachers who TOTALLY don't jive with my learning style.

I think I summed it up best in my charge to the upper school during my last chapel: 

The work never ends, but high school does. 

Love your classmates, thank your teachers, be good people.

I honestly don't think I would change much about my high school experience. I wish I had worked a little harder freshman year and been more open with people, but hindsight is always 20/20. I think what matters most is not what you do, but what you learn from your actions. This year has shown me that hard work pays off and that being yourself might not be the absolute worst thing in the world.

xx

The Endless Summer

So now that school is over, graduation is in two weeks, and I have no serious commitments in the foreseeable future, I'm going to take a little break.

I'm a little more burnt out than I thought I was, and it kind of hit me yesterday as I drove home from downtown after having lunch with a friend. I literally couldn't convince myself that I had nothing to do  yesterday afternoon and today. 

I went out and laid by the pool and read US Weekly. It. Was. So. Weird.

That, and the fact that I literally cannot read a page of a book to save my life right now, I'm putting myself on a little technology/blogging/etc vacation for awhile. I need to enjoy these next few weeks, not enjoy thinking about the blog posts I'm going to write about them.

The in-between life is weird, but I can't say I'm not enjoying it already!

HS Thursday: Senior Year

1. SAT | This is the last time you'll ever have to take it! Working hard in September means you don't have to take it again in November or December!

2. Apply to College | Take your time with your applications and let your essays if you have to write them reflect who you truly are - admissions counselors want to learn about you!

3. Senioritis | Yes, I did get senioritis a little early since I did get accepted to Alabama before I even started senior year, but it didn't really hit me until a few weeks ago. Grades are still important and will still count until you get your diploma! 

4. Enjoy it | Senior year goes by so fast (cliche, I know), but this year has been truly one of the funnest. Everything kind of came together for me this year, and it was definitely my strongest academic year. I became close with some of my favorite people in the world, and our class really bonded.

xx

HS Thursday: Junior Year

1. Polish That Resume | Now is the best time to polish your resume and get the club presidencies, leadership roles, and get everything in order for senior year.

2. APs | Look at taking an AP or two if colleges that you're interested in will give you credit for them. If all goes well, I will have 21 credits to go to Alabama with next fall!

3. SAT | Start getting ready for the SAT! I took my first one in March of my junior year since I was missing the May date, but the May SAT is a great starting point for your first test

4. College Tours | Start to narrow your schools down to 5-7 that you can tour. I knew that Alabama, UGA and USC were at the top of my list, and I applied to Alabama and UGA knowing I would go to either one.

5. Work Hard | Junior year is TOUGH. Go look at any of my old blog posts and you can see I was stressed out of my mind. But it was fun, and it really pays off in the end!

xx

AP Exams

Happy AP Exam Week y'all!

Best of luck to my fellow high schoolers who are taking exams this week and next! I'm not going to lie, I'm going to be a very happy camper next Tuesday afternoon when I'm finished!

My three essentials for the next two weeks, which are all mutually exclusive: sleep, focus, and caffeine. I almost missed my AP Euro exam my sophomore year by oversleeping because I didn't get enough of the first, had too little of the second, and too much of the latter! Especially if you're taking in an exam where you've been in a class all year for it, like I am for one of mine, sleep will definitely be better than studying at a certain point. I definitely reached that point last night!

Here's to hoping to many 5's on July 5th!

xx

High School Thursday: Freshman // Sophomore Year

Since I casually only have three Thursday's left of high school, I'm taking a break from the College Thursday to take a trip down memory lane of high school. It's a little weird to think that I started this blog my freshman year and that I've kept it going for all four years.

1. Branch Out | High school is a fresh start so use it to expand your social circle. Try a new club or a new sport and talk to everyone. I really wish now that I had branched out more and not waited until junior or senior year.

2. Develop your study methods | Figure out what works and what doesn't work. This is time when it's okay to make a few mistakes that won't absolutely ruin your GPA or transcript. Sophomore year, think about taking an AP or two, since they definitely help!

3. College | Realize that college will eventually be on your radar but cherish the time that it isn't, aka Freshman Year. If you're super smart, or your school makes you, take the PSAT. It definitely helped me. But don't stress. Sophomore year, you can start to prepare a little bit more, think about what you want in a school towards the end of the year, and if colleges visit your school, go see them! I met my Alabama rep/admissions counselor my sophomore year and we kept in touch. She's now writing me a sorority recommendation and I've loved seeing her all three years.

4. Interests and Strengths | Start to realize what your interests are in and strengths are, and develop them! Don't ignore your negatives, but playing up your assets now will help a lot when it comes to apply to college, etc.

5. Lay groundwork | Do your homework, play sports, become well rounded. Freshman and sophomore years are when club leaders, sports teams captains, and SGA presidents are made.

My freshman year of school was different since our freshmen are still in the middle school (don't ask), so I didn't have the typical first year of high school experience. It was still great, but I  felt very removed from "high school" until sophomore year. Sophomore year I did the whole sports/homecoming/musical deal and it was such a fun year without the stress of college, but still being in the oldest division in school.

Next Thursday, back to funnest year ever Junior year!

xx

Friday Five

Things I've learned this week:

1. Nice girls don't get what they want. Be assertive. You have to ask for some things in life, and that's okay.

2. Nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems. Spoken by my very wise college counselor. 

3. If you leap, the net will appear. 

4. There is so so so so so much I don't know about certain things. Luckily for me I get to spend a summer learning about them.

5. You actually do have to risk it to get the Chick Fil A Chicken biscuit

And a sixth because it is pretty important:

6. Grades are great and all, but what you learn from the things you learn about is what matters in the end.

Happy Friday y'all!

xx

AP Exams

With April almost here, I've started to study for my last AP exams! My school lets us take them, but we don't take AP classes, or classes that teach about the test. My sophomore year I took the European exam and last year I took the US History exam. This year I'll be taking Psychology, US Government, English Language and Comparative Government. I really want to do well on them so I can get credit for when I go to school.

What I've learned from studying the past two years and this year:

1. Start early! I did not give myself enough time to study my sophomore year and I didn't do well as a result. It depends on the subject, but for most class it's a years worth of material on one test, so reviewing has been taking a while for me this year.

2. Get books or study guides. I love the REA Crash Course series and Barron's brand, personally.

3. Practice the essays for the history/english exams, because they can really help you if you do well on them.

4. I use Quizlet for everything, but some people do better just reading or just doing questions, it all depends on you.

Fellow high schoolers, are you taking any AP's this year and if so, how are you preparing??

xx

Signs of Senioritis

How to spot a second semester senior with this terrible disease:

1. Inability to get up before 7:30, even though they went to bed at 10:30 the night before.

2. Typical phrases include, but are not limited to, "How many days until spring break/prom/exemptions/APs?", "Is this homework required?", "I need to register for room selection/orientation/find a roommate", "Do I have to go to school today?", "Today I watched two movies, took a quiz, and had two study halls. In five classes."

3. Outfits are reduced to "Days when one wants to try and look good" and "Leggings/Ponytail".

4. Occasional bursts of motivation. These are few and far between.

5. Backpacks left in car or at home, strewn with half done soduku and crossword puzzles. 

6. Getting kicked out of the library. Oops.

PS In spite of my posts about senioritis and not caring anymore, I'm on track to make high honor roll for the first time in high school. I still have some goals to make.

xx

The Beginning of the End

Today, I get to go try on graduation dresses at one of our bridal salons in town! They have to be full length and a crisp white, so my options are limited, but endless thanks to bridesmaids dresses!

Some of my favorites are from LulaKate

Alfred Sung

and of course, J. Crew

xx

The In-Between

I'm in phase I of 'the in-between'. I'm done applying to college, I don't have to worry about exam exemptions, know when I'm picking out my dorm room, and APs are in the far distance for now. Phase II will commence once I've trotted across stage with diploma in hand, but haven't quite moved into college. 

But my motivation to do well is at an all-time high. Like all of high school high, comparable to how I felt while studying for my IR class. I guess it's because I'm doing it all for me, not because I'm trying to get into college or get my midyears up, but to stand up at graduation for the honor roll and to know that I left it all on the field when I leave high school for good. 

Maybe things would be easier in our lives if we did them for ourselves, because we're worth it, not because of some goal, lofty or close by. 

xx