10 Pieces of Advice for High Schoolers from a Recent Graduate

Hello and welcome back to Diary of a Small-Town Girl! Today, I’m going to be giving you 10 pieces of advice for high schoolers from a recent graduate. High school, for me, was actually pretty great for the most part. Of course, there were plenty of not-so-great moments (For example, the pandemic hit towards the end of my sophomore year, so that wasn’t great lol.) But overall, high school was an incredible time of exploration, self-discovery, and genuinely great experiences.

Here are my 10 pieces of advice for high school students, whether you’re not even in high school yet, or you’re starting your senior year:

1. Work Hard

This is one of those “Well, duh” pieces of advice, that while frequently mentioned is still important. High school will set you up for your future, meaning that putting in the work will benefit you. It is a time to learn, grow, and do things you love. Putting in the work in high school will make not only college and your future easier, but it will also make your high school years more enjoyable overall. Always do your best, ask for help when you need it, and take the time to get to know and improve yourself.

2. Get Involved

This is another one of those “well, duh” pieces of advice, but again, it bears repeating. Extracurricular activities were the highlight of my high school experience. I was incredibly involved in high school, participating in theatre, Honor Society, Spectrum (our GSA), speech, marching band, and many other activities.

It was through these activities that I found my closest friends and they are absolutely what I will miss most about high school. It honestly still makes me kind of sad to think about that I will never wake up at 5am to get on a speech bus or be at the high school from 7am to 10pm because I had so much going on. While those days were exhausting and there were certainly moments I didn’t love, it was totally worth it.

So, take some time to get involved. Go to the activity fair, go to club meetings with a friend, and find things that you truly enjoy. Also, don’t be afraid to take on leadership positions in the activities that you truly love and are committed to as you become an upperclassman. I loved the leadership positions I took on. Getting to know and help younger students was so much fun for me.

3. Find Good Friends

Finding friends in high school can be tough, I’m not going to lie. My friend group changed multiple times throughout high school. I went into high school with the mentality that my friend group from middle school would never change. By mid-fall of my freshman year, the friend group had fallen apart, and I had found a new group of friends.

In junior year, my circle of friends grew smaller. Then, at the end of my junior year I had a major friend break up. It was hard and it really sucked. But my senior year, I found a group of friends who really care about me and who I really care about. While it took a long time to find the friends I have today, I am so grateful for all of my friends throughout high school. They helped create some of the best memories and having good friends that I could trust (throughout all four years) was really helpful in getting through the good and bad times.

4. Go to Events

I’m going to say this one again. GO TO EVENTS! Go to homecoming, prom, football games, school plays, etc. Get out there and enjoy the experiences of high school. Even if the events I went to weren’t necessarily my favorites, I always had fun and the events are much more a part of the high school experience and memories than the actual time spent in a classroom (Don’t get me wrong though, the classroom time is still important!).

5. Don’t care what others think

This one is perhaps the most important one on the list. Please, if you take one thing from this post, take this one. Never ever care what other people think of you. Especially if those people are not your close friends or family. Go have fun. Be ridiculous. Dress up for homecoming days, go sit at Dairy Queen for three hours, make gingerbread houses in January, raise your hand in class. Obviously be safe, but whatever it is you want to do – just do it.

I wish that this was advice I had come across and taken earlier in high school. Once I stopped caring what other people thought and started doing the things I wanted to do, I had so much more fun. My senior year in particular was so incredible because I did fun things just because I wanted to. Even if I felt insecure or like people were judging me, I still did what I wanted to and what I loved. Learning this was also helped by finding great friends who would go on fun, ridiculous adventures with me. Not caring what other people thought about me made every experience so much more positive and allowed me to have some of the best adventures.

6. Explore

Ok, this one has a couple of meanings. First, explore your physical surroundings. Even if you live in a tiny, boring town, I guarantee there are things to do. Find them, do them, and have fun. The more you can explore and make adventures out of the little things, the happier you will be.

And two, explore your hobbies, passions, and education. Take classes you find interesting. Learn as much as you possibly can. Take an online course. Whatever piques your interest in the moment, look into it. Take the time to explore and to educate yourself. It will help immensely to know things you like, don’t like, and to have a bunch of random knowledge in the future. Also, I know I keep saying this, but it’s much more fun when you’re doing something you actually want to do.

7. Spend Time with your family

If you’re planning on going to college (or even if you aren’t), you likely only have four years left living at home. So, take the time to talk to your parents, to get ice cream and hang out with your siblings. Share what made you happy today. Spend as much time as you can with your family because if you move away after high school, you will miss them. I didn’t realize how fast the time would go, and this past year I found myself trying to spend time with my family as much as I could before I left for college.

8. Find hobbies and passions

This kind of goes with number 6: explore and find things you love. Having hobbies is so beneficial both in high school and in your future. Make the things you love to do priorities. Don’t be afraid to take the time to paint or play basketball or garden or do whatever else you find enjoyable.

Also, try to explore the things you are passionate about. Exploring your passions may lead you to what you want to do beyond high school. But also, don’t be afraid if you find you are passionate about a lot of things or not really anything at all. You have time to figure everything out, and even if your passions don’t lead anywhere in the future, you will be glad you followed them, even for only a little while.

9. Go on adventures

Go on as many adventures as you can in high school. Make the smallest things an adventure, either by yourself or with friends. Whether it’s homework or chores or errands, find the fun in it. It will make life happier and will make even “boring” tasks more fun.

Something I did every year with friends was decorate gingerbread houses. This is something I’ve done since I was really young and has become one of my favorite traditions. And while it doesn’t seem all that exciting, I absolutely love spending time with my friends, and we always have a blast decorating the houses (And eating way too much candy!). Whatever it is you want to do, find a way to do it and love doing it. Adventures do not have to be big. They can be as small as going to the grocery store together or having a bonfire in the backyard.

10. Enjoy every moment because it goes fast.

Finally, and truly most importantly, enjoy every single moment. I know you’ll probably hear advice like this a million times, and I know you probably won’t believe me or anyone else you hear it from, but when you get to your senior year, you’ll suddenly be wondering where all the time went. Try to find something positive in every experience you have in high school. This is not to say that there won’t be classes you hate or hardships with friends, or struggles with your motivation or mental health, but at least try to find something to love about the four years you’re in high school.

I went into high school wanting to leave as fast as I could, but when I was graduating, I was reflecting on all that I will miss. That’s not to say that I wasn’t ready to leave (because I definitely was), but there truly are things I do miss now that it’s over. Always remember that high school is only four years. There will be good things and bad things, but you will get through it, hopefully having learned about yourself and with some great memories to hold onto.

Wrap Up

Thank you for reading all the way to the end! I hope you found these 10 pieces of advice for high schoolers helpful. If you have any other high school advice or if you are a high schooler and have questions, leave them all in the comments! I hope you all are having a beautiful day and I can’t wait to see you in the next post.