High school students are wiser than you think

High school students are wiser than you think. In fact, you should take this advice.

Allow me to explain.

Back when I was seeking out fun activities to keep my Hooligans (#I love them anyway) showing up, I asked my Seniors to impart some wisdom to their underclassmen. Much to my surprise (and delight), they did.

Below are a handful of my favorite quotes. I hope you are as impressed as I was when I first read them.

The fact that teenagers willingly took a pen to paper and constructed well-formed sentences filled with compassion and sincerity is, in itself, a miracle. What’s even more amazing is that they were eager to share their experiences with their fellow classmates. I was so proud of them.

As you read them, can you sense a theme?

The funny thing is I asked each of them to write their bit of wisdom separately. They didn’t see what anyone else wrote until the end when I displayed all the notes in the classroom. It’s amazing how similar most of the advice is. It’s all about getting done, staying motivated, embracing failure, enjoying life and having fun. That’s pretty damn good advice at any age.

So, the next time you’re sitting around thinking time is passing so quickly because of your age, listen to the kiddos who are just getting started in life. They seem to intuitively sense that it’s going to fly by so they’d better enjoy the moment NOW.

(#listen up!) Image created by Deb Plotkin

BABY STEP

Now, let’s FREE our minds with insightful Baby Steps centered around my grads’ theme…

YOLO (You Only Live Once)

I had hundreds of these notes from multiple years. These are my top 10 picks…

1. “If you have a dream, chase it no matter the challenges that try to hold you back.”

2. “You will never succeed more than you fail in life, so keep trying!”

3. “In everything you do, make sure to have fun. And make sure any decision you make, you benefit from.”

4. “That zero you got on a test won’t kill you in your sleep. Don’t slack off, but don’t think everything is the end of the world.”

5. “Failure is important. It is needed in order to succeed. Don’t let failure allow you to quit.”

6. “Just go to class and get it over with.” (aka Just do it!)

7. “Take as many opportunities as you can so that your road ahead will be a little less difficult.”

8. “Keep up with your assignments. Even if you get a crappy grade, it’s still better than a zero.” (#Baby Steps!!!)

9. “If you fail on a test (or in something you’ve done), don’t worry. Just do better next time.”

10. “Don’t overthink things. Most of the time the answer is quite simple.”

Plus, my 3 all-time faves:

• The funniest: “Don’t be the topic of discussion on Monday morning.”

• The most true: “It can’t be worse than the 2020 school year!”

• The most heart-warming*: “Life is like a book…High school is the introduction. So go write your own story.”

*This grad told me he never learned how to sign his name in cursive. At the end of the school year, I sat down with him and we practiced until he got it right. He was so excited to have learned something he thought he could never do. When he handed me his note with the quote on it, he had written it in cursive. Happy tears :)