High school is where students discover who they are. It’s where they decide what direction they want to go and who they want to be, stumbling through different obstacles to get there. From being scared to ask your crush to a dance, to failing a history test because you stayed up late watching Netflix instead of studying, to having a nervous breakdown in the middle of nowhere because assignments just keep piling one after the other, high school helps prepare students for adversity. Though many people think high school is the worst thing ever, there are many positives, like meeting people who you may spend the rest of your life with, making friendships that will stay very close to your heart, and creating memories that you will cherish forever. The four years of high school are some of the best years our our lives. Even though it may not seem like it now, you will realize it once it all starts to come to an end. Every year has its lows, but it’s up to you to make the best of every situation. here are some tips on how to do that.

Tip #1. High school is not as bad as everyone says it is. Yes, sometimes there are days when you dread getting out of bed, but you have to get over it and just do it. It’s easier to actually get up, do what you have to do, and get it over with, rather than skipping and having truancy charges filed. Students say they don’t want to go because of all the assignments they have. I’ve had less homework in my four years of high school than I did when I was in elementary and middle school. Just do the work given to you in class and you have nothing to worry about.

Tip #2. Listen to your teachers, they do care. Teachers are really not the devil. They’re here for one reason and one reason only, to teach. If someone didn’t have a passion for teaching they wouldn’t get a degree in teaching and become a teacher, so stop thinking that every teacher is out to get you. They aren’t picking on you when they correct your behavior, they are just trying to follow the rules. If they tell you to tuck your shirt in, please just do it. It’s their job to spot it and your job to fix it. The teachers that you think are your hardest or meanest teachers are most likely the best teachers you will ever have. They want to push you to your fullest potential and see you succeed; that’s why they are the way they are. Appreciate them now, because your professors in college will not have time to care for you out of the thousands of students they teach. You get what you get.

Tip #3. Make friends, not enemies. I have experienced this first hand. If someone doesn’t like you, do not let it get under your skin. You are not here for them, you’re here to take care of your business and get on with your life. Sadly, people who don’t even know you will not like you, but that’s reality. Be friends with people who avoid drama, and be friends with people who are focused and want the best for you like you do for them. Also, be kind. Hold the door for someone, let someone borrow your notes, be a friend to someone, and smile. The world needs more bright smiles, not mean looks to one another for absolutely no reason. There are over 2,000 students on campus, and we could all benefit from mutual respect and an effort to be polite.

Tip #4. Get involved. If I could go back four years to my freshman year and start all over again, I would. I would change the fact that I wasn’t as involved as I should have been. This is where all the fun is in high school. Your teammates and peers become your family and you make memories that will last a lifetime. Be known and be involved, because that will get you far throughout your high school career. Volunteer and help out for things whenever you’re given the opportunity and take chances. What’s really the worst thing that could happen? It doesn’t have to be just your freshman year, it can be anytime during high school, because it’s better late than never. Make yourself take the chance, because it’s better than saying you never got to do it.

Tip #5. Challenge yourself and do your best. As I said with taking chances, if you’ve never ever done something before, give it a shot. If there’s a sport you have never played, try out. You may just make the team and find a new hobby. Challenge yourself to try new things and when you do, do it at your very best, because hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. You will feel better saying you overcame something and you will appreciate it more for the very fact that you earned it, just by challenging yourself. It doesn’t just have to be a sport or club either; try an AP class and push yourself academically. With a little effort, you may be surprised at what you can accomplish.

Tip #6. DO NOT WHINE, APPRECIATE HIGH SCHOOL FOR WHAT IT IS. You would not be who you are at this very moment if you did not experience certain things that high school has thrown at you. You would not know what you know now if you did not learn the skills and knowledge that your teachers and classes gave you. You would not be able to cope with certain things or know right from wrong, if not for the lessons that your mistakes have taught you. You would not have the friends that you can sit around and talk to for hours if you had not been here to meet them. You would not have the memories that you can dwell on for years after this, and the memories you get to tell your children from your high school experience. If there were no such thing as high school, I think everyone would be confused with life and who they truly are. Appreciate the experience instead of counting down the days, hoping each one will pass quickly.