6 Things I Would Tell Myself On The Day Of My High School Graduation

I have learned so much in the last year between graduating from high school and completing my first year of college. Graduating high school is equally exciting and scary. I wish I could go back in time to reassure myself that everything will be okay. Here are 6 things I wish I could tell myself a year ago on the day of my high school graduation:

1. Be proud of yourself

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Everyone else is! You should be too! You have spent the past 4 years trying to get a grasp on who you are and what you want to be and that was no easy task. All the while, you were going to school and trying to make good enough grades to get into college. You also had to balance your family, friends, work, and your extra curricular activities. Overall, these past four years have been exhausting and you have finally made it. So stop going around saying, "Oh it's just high school graduation, no big deal, anyone can do it," because the reality is not everyone can do it. You had the privilege of having a considerably easy ride because of the support of your family, your socioeconomic status, and racial privilege. By failing to recognize this important time of your life as an achievement, you are diminishing the pride of your peers who may have had difficulty graduating.

2. You might actually miss home

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Okay hear me out. Home will always be home. No matter where you go you're always going to feel a sense of nostalgia and happiness when you think of the place you spent the first 18 years of your life. It only makes sense. Every milestone you have ever hit has existed in one place and now you are going to move away and things will never be the same. You'll obviously miss your family, friends and pets, but you will also miss the little things. You'll miss the familiar roads that you drive on everyday. You'll miss the smell of your room and the photos on the walls. You'll even kind of miss seeing people you know everywhere; it's annoying to you now but you'll learn to appreciate it once you basically become anonymous in your new city.

3. Stay true to who you are

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Yes is sounds super cheesy and cliche but its important advice. When you go to college just be yourself and you'll meet some pretty cool like minded people. Right now you have this idea that you'll go to college and become this whole new person but thats just not true. You are who you are and thats not going to change and honestly, it's not worth the energy to try and fight that. Don't get me wrong, you are going to learn SO much about the world and society and you will grow so much because of that, but you will still be the same snarky, cynical, sassy gal you are now, and I am not convinced that that's a bad thing.

4. You are smarter and more capable than you think

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So it turns out you're actually kinda smart. You're going to do pretty well academically in college. You will surprise yourself and your parents. Have faith in your capability. Don't play down your academic achievement because it is a really big deal. College will be challenging but you are definitely up for the challenge.

5. Don't be pretentious

You will have a 9 month period of enlightenment. You are going to learn a lot about structural inequality, and systems of oppression, amongst other things. You are going to want to come back home and share all this knowledge with your friends and family. By all means please do! You will become an agent of social change and you should do your best to educate those around you when it is appropriate and/or necessary. However you should't expect people to know the things you know, and its unfair to get mad at them for not knowing the intricacies of things like racism and sexism. Your knowledge is a privilege that has been made possible by brilliant professors, incredible authors, and your parents who payed your tuition every quarter. Share everything you know with your friends and family but don't belittle them or get frustrated with them for not knowing it in the first place. Also keep in mind you still don't know everything and you still have so much to learn.

6. Know that everything happens for a reason

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Going to college and deciding to move away is the first real adult decision you've made. You have had parental guidance on the matter, but ultimately it was your choice and if you end up hating it, its all your fault. It's incredibly frightening. Over the next year you will have a few short periods of self doubt about your choice of school, course of study, etc. When you have these thoughts just remember that you didn't end up where you are by accident. You chose this place for a reason, and you do love it even if you sometimes forget. I assure you that at this point in time, after my first full year, I feel as though you made the right choice and that we will be happy here for the next 3 years.