As I cherish my last few months of high school, I thought I would share a few realizations I made over these eventful four years.

With these tips in mind, I hope you find yourself to be more self-aware as you too make your way through your teenage years.

1. Do what makes you happy. This may sound incredibly cliche, and I completely understand. But when times are tough and your to-do list begins looking like an endless tunnel, there is nothing more important that adding in a family movie night, or a sleepover with your best pal, or a quick bubble bath with your favorite bath bomb to wind down before you lose all your morale.
2. Fight senioritis. It may be easy to fall under its spell, but you are stronger than it. Of course school, extracurriculars, health, family, and friends all take effort. But keep yourself going when life gets overwhelming because in the next day, months, and even years you will be proud of yourself.
3. Kindness is rewarding. Talking to the kid alone at the table, volunteering at a homeless shelter, or simply explaining a math problem to a struggling classmate will all be worth it because they will find gratitude in your generosity and you will find happiness in being able to offer help. Plus, you might even make new friends along the way.
4. Keep your mind open. Maybe you have a dream job, but times will change and so may your career path. There will be many challenges and curveballs thrown your way, but keeping your options open will make things easier for you, and you might end up even happier as your find out more about yourself.
5. Mental or physical disabilities, race, religion, and sexual orientation are not things to joke about in any circumstance. Every person deserves respect, and these are all heavy topics that should not be ridiculed. You could put people at the risk of getting offended or ashamed and there is no good that comes from that for anyone. Joking about such topics is just immature in the first place.
6. Stop worrying. This one is kind of hard, especially if you are a perfectionist, try-hard, people-pleaser etc. But really there is no reason to let yourself panic because no one benefits from that. Only you would do harm to your own well-being.
7. Stay true to yourself. It may be easy to get sucked up into the high school parties, substance use, or other activities Grandma would shake her head at. I personally found myself to be too busy with responsibilities at hand to get involved and if that’s the case for you as well, then you most likely don’t need to worry. But say you are asked to do something that makes you highly uncomfortable? Then don’t do it. You own your body and your life so you are in control of what happens to them. Never forget this one.
8. Be nice to your parents (or guardians). They work diligently to keep you enrolled at Central and that deserves some applause. Beyond that though, you are going to say a lot of words you don’t mean during your high school career, especially to these wonderful people who keep you under their roof despite your uncontrollable teenage hormones. So by all means, they are the real heroes. And as college approaches, I want every memory with my parents to be happy ones.
9. You are not alone. Everyone has their own stories and their own reasons, so it’s important to respect that. But when you feel like life is not going your way, no matter how hard you try, there are numerous people who are in the same boat because everyone is going through some sort of obstacle in life. So when you feel this way, it is absolutely acceptable to reach out to someone you trust.
10. Last but not least…respect Dan Bridges. My goodness, our superintendent has received so much disrespect (I’m looking at you Twitter people!) for not giving us snow days or cold days or some other nonsense. I used to work with him over the summer and let me tell you, he’s is a kind, respectful, and incredibly busy HUMAN who deserves a lot of respect. He has a lot of factors to consider before making big decisions, so please keep that in mind before you start spitting out rude comments at him. Or anyone for that matter.

So that was just a little insight from me as I head off into the long-awaited second semester senior year. Hope I got you thinking, and good luck with the rest of high school.

Oh, and remember, you are all stronger than you know.