LET'S TALK: 29 things I Wish I'd Known in High School

The minute I saw Andrea and Erika's were doing their monthly Let's Talk and Show and Tell Tuesday's topic on School Days and advice to your younger self..I knew I had to re-run my post from this time last year about all the Things I wish I'd known in High School, especially or those of you who haven't read it and as a reminder that Life is Now, not in the Past.....
I also Had to Link  up with Spiel The Beans
With our two boys off to college, it was even more important for me to address this topic again.
 
Gonna be hard to not see those sweet, smiling faces everyday

HERE GOES with what I wish I'd Known waaaay back then:

High School was ok, heck, it was often FUN as can be. I faced many of the issues kids do today. Yet, today it's magnified and social media has created a whole new existence. Kids say the cruelest things. There is so much more pressure, deadlines, and stereotypes and the bullying is horrendous. Our boys are pretty good about going with the flow but definitely have been hurt. I know it is especially difficult for girls. I want them to know that by NO means does High School define you. It is a tiny chapter in your life that you have to make the most of. Today is my life and the one I love and while I look back on some things with fondness, others I don't even have much of a memory today and I truly only miss a handful of people. The true people who care are the ones sitting across the dinner table from you, working down the hall, taking the time to catch up with you or giving you a hug. 
I practiced many on this list, others I wish I had and I certainly hope kids today can look at a list like this and realize to not sweat the small stuff!
1. It won't matter later on that he was on a high school football, basketball or wrestling team or she was a cheerleader or you had a 4.525 GPA
2. Chill with the eyeliner.
3. Don't tell your mom you hate her; you will regret it.
4. Innocence is beautiful.
5. Call your grandma just because.
6. Some people will never like you; don't let it bother you. Kill them with kindness anyway.
7. You were beautiful before he told you.
8. Don't believe stereotypes. Get to know people personally instead of judging them.
9. Don't let one mistake define you. But learn from your mistakes. 
10. Eat home-cooked meals. You will miss it one day.
11. Your mom can see a fake friend before you can.
12. Your dad can see a crappy boy before you can.
13. Enjoy your metabolism while it lasts and eat the dang doughnut. 
14. There is more to life than Friday night.
15. If your parents buy you something, whether it's a Hamburger or a phone, say thank you.
16. Try hard to keep your best friend. While you'll make other friends later on, she probably is the "BEST" best friend you'll ever have. 
17. Prom is not the "best night of your life," but go anyway.
18. High school years are not the best years of your life, However, enjoy high school while it lasts, you will miss some of it.
19. Stop comparing yourself to others; that will never do any good.
20. Learn to forgive. Also learn that not everyone deserves your trust.
21. Learn to apologize.
22. He most likely isn't the love of your life. 
23. Stop pretending to be someone you are not to impress people.
24. Keep a journal. Seriously, you will love reading it one day. 
25. Take your studies and SAT prep classes seriously. Knowledge is power! 
26. Write thank you notes for everything.
27. Tell your favorite high school teacher she (or he) Rocks. Teaching is tough.
28. Nothing good happens past midnight. My parents always said this and it is so true.
29. His plan is greater than yours (Romans 8:28).
To all of the high school girls (and boys) reading this--I hope you never forget that even though life sometimes stinks, you will have plenty of moments that make you forget about the hard times. You will have moments of laughter, joy, and thankfulness that compensate for the time you failed your math test or the "one" broke your heart. Be willing to adventure through life, and go through the bad with a smile knowing the best is yet to come. Embrace your innocence and stop trying to grow up. You only get to be a kid once; so enjoy the end of the beginning while you can.

Senior, Fall 1988

25 years later

The High School "Men" on their first day last year!!
And now a new Chapter will begin and I'll start thinking "29 Things I Wish I'd Known in College!"...

                                                                           xoxo
 "One day you’re 17 and planning for someday. And then quietly and without you ever really noticing, someday is today. And then someday is yesterday. And this is your life."
~ONE TREE HILL 

57 comments:

  1. Yes to ALL of these, the fake friend being spotted by your mom before you can see it, calling your grandma's just because - I so wish I had done that more. You are just as beautiful today as you were in high school!! xo, biana -BlovedBoston

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  2. Anonymous25.7.16

    Yes YES YES this is a great list !! # 2, #3, #4 #22, #25 I could go on and on because these all are right on. Our boys head off to college in a few weeks too. Happy Monday Andrea !

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  3. Yes this is fantastic even only being out of high school for maybe a year in a half I can already agree to this! I love 19 its perfect and so true! So fun this list! Happy monday!
    xoxo,Victoria
    www.coffeeandablonde.blogspot.com

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  4. Andrea, thank you for posting this! I'm definitely sharing this with my teenage daughter...we talk about this kind of stuff a lot! Enjoy these precious few weeks of summer with your boys!

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  5. Great post beautiful! I'm thinking about all these things and going, "yes, uh huh, amen!" Have a beautiful Monday, sweetness! xo Amanda

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  6. How is it that you haven't aged a bit? All great advice. It is funny how important some things seemed at the time.

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  7. Oh my gosh, these are all so true! That last quote perfectly sums it up!

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  8. Oh my gosh, this list is just too good, Andrea! Especially number 13 HAHA!! And you look exactly the same as you did in high school! Hope you have a great start to the week!

    xo, Rachel
    A Blonde's Moment

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  9. Best advice: Learn to apologize. Love it. I think it took me awhile to learn this later in life, but so glad I did. Hope you have a great week, beauty!

    Shauna

    www.lipglossandlace.net

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  10. These are all so true!! The lessons that are part of growing up. Loving that throw back photo of you! Gorgeous then and now.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

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  11. Oh dear friend, such wisdom! I loved all these and totally agree! Saving this post for Alise to read in a few years! Loved seeing your throw back pic! Still beautiful!

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  12. This is the best advice! Agree with all of these! I'm sharing this with my daughter!

    Jill
    Doused In Pink

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  13. AMEN to all of these! Especially about best friends--my best BEST friends are the ones I made in high school! Loved this post!!

    www.rosyoutlookblog.com

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  14. Number 11 is honestly so true. Moms know best!!
    www.amemoryofus.com

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  15. 'Chill with the eyeliner' Bahahahah. Love this.

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  16. All so true! Especially the parents knowing fake friends/bad loves first.

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  17. This is the best list. My oldest is about to start high school, and I'm so excited for her. It is such a time of learning, both about yourself and others. Have a marvelous Monday!

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  18. Oh man - wouldnt it have been wonderful to have this list & BELIEVED it back in the day?

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  19. Do you have naturally curly hair? Just curious by your photo! I really loved high school, but that is so not who I am today. All of your tips are good ones and advice I should def. remember to tell my kids once they are in high school. I love the call your grandma one, just because. Ahh, to have one more phone call with my grandma!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  20. I love every single one of these!!! They are so true. High school was not my favorite time at all, I enjoyed college much more. I remember how big of a deal everything was and getting my feelings hurt a lot and I look back now and think...that person was so stupid. Why didn't I see it?!?! My mom for sure could spot a fake friend a mile away and now I can too. Luckily I never said I hate either of my parents. My relationship with my mom was strong all through the "rough years" and I am so thankful for that! I hope that I have the same relationship with my daughter. I cant imagine how much more pressure is on kids these days than when we grew up. Social media and the internet make it a different playing field.

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  21. SO much YES to all of this!! I hope this touches someone and helps them realize that high school days are NOT everything and that life after high school is what really matters. I love that you did this, Andrea! Wishing your boys a wonderful, fun, and safe time off at college!
    xo, Lily
    Beauty With Lily

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  22. I love this! What a fun post....and my parents ALWAYS told me nothing good happens after midnight. They were so right!

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  23. AND....don't forget to mark your calendar and come link this post on August 16th when Katy & I are sharing school days memories as part of our Spiel the Beans linkup!!

    Shelly||The Queen in Between

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  24. This is such an amazing post! I know that I stressed way too much about the little things in high school, and looking back I really wish that I hadn't. I didn't need to line my eyes completely with eye liner and I also should have listened to my mom when she told me how fake some of my friends were. I also really regret how mean I was to my mom in high school! Seriously such a great post today, and I think that we all can relate!

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  25. You've barely aged! I love it. And what cutie little boys you have. These are great tokens of wisdom. Especially #4. How true that is.

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  26. This is great Andrea! I definitely can relate to so many of these- especially the ones about parents. They really do know best most all of the time and if I would have listened to them then, I would have saved myself a lot of heartache-haha. Love this! :)

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  27. OH my goodness, I was just sitting here nodding my head to every single one of these things! I LOL at the eyeliner comment, so true! and 13, yes! I used to eat a bean and cheese burrito and a large cookie and soda everyday for lunch...ugh! Those were the days, hehe.

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  28. This is such a great post! I was bullied in high school and like you said: I killed them with kindness. It was hard but I knew what I wanted and worked hard (I was a nerd). You're right, tho...Social media can be very cruel not just to our kids but to ourselves too. Time's changing...but anyhow, loved this post! You are so wise and so loving! Your boys are lucky to have you as their mama!
    Happy Monday, love!
    xoxo, Vanessa
    www.WhatWouldVWear.com

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  29. Oh I love all these! I was literally LOLing on some of them. ;) Great advice.

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  30. Love, love, love this. Tried to pick a favorite. Or five. Gave up...love them all. Brilliant. So glad I found you at Turn It Up Tuesday!

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  31. YOU are so beautiful...inside and out. Your heart really shines in this post. I love it...calling Grandma ( I do that every day still) and especially this: 7. You were beautiful before he told you....YES! So so true, we all need to feel beautiful first before we can believe anyone else telling us. SO much great advice in this post, XO!

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  32. Love your list and your pictures! High is such a strange and beautiful, and I'm so glad social media wasn't a thing when I was in high school :)

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  33. first of all, it's practically unfair that you just don't age. Seriously. I look older from last year to this year than you do from high school to now. What the what? I need whatever it is you're using/eating/taking etc.
    Second, this is the best list EVER. EVER.
    Your boys are so lucky to have such a wise and gorgeous momma.

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  34. I LOVED this post Andrea...it is so true. Some of the things the girls at the coffee shop tell me about their high school experiences truly make me shudder...I ALWAYS tell them it really won't matter someday, it's such a small, small part of life. I loved your list and definitely agree with everything, especially calling your grandparents just because, enjoying your metabolism AND home cooked meals while you don't have to cook them hahaha. Loved this so much, I hope your week is wonderful my beautiful friend! XO -Kim

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  35. Beautiful then, beautiful now! Such great advice. We always tell the boys that nothing good happens after midnight! And oh, how I miss my metabolism.

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  36. I think its very hard now, I didn t like my High school years at all. And there is so much pressure now ,I believe! I think parents are glad when their children ,,survive,,

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  37. Great list, Andrea. Love the eye-liner bit. One of my girls is a senior and draws "perfect wings" ... The q-tips on her floor prove her insistence they are "just right." Anywho. Fun post! Visiting from Holly's.

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  38. Great points! I don't know, though. I've had some pretty good conversations after midnight. ;)

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  39. AMEN! This was such a lovely post to read, Andrea. I'm a senior in high school and although I'm home-schooled I can relate to many of these points. Thanks for writing such a touching post. Have a wonderful week :)

    Blessings,
    Edye | Http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com

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  40. I will print it and put on my daughter door. Some of them hurts after so many years!

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  41. What a truly beautiful post! If I had children of my own, I would send them this link for sure!
    You were so cute at school - and you're even more beautiful 25 years later <3
    Suzy xxx
    www.suzyturner.com

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  42. Great advice for kids to read...Hope they've been enjoying all the home cooked meals cause I know yours are always yummy.

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  43. First things first - you never age! Seriously girl - you look gorgeous! And this was fabulous! So many great points . . . I need to save for my kids to read! xoxo

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  44. Haha...this is a great list! There are so many things that we think are important when we're in the moment of some life stage, especially if we have no experience with which to reference. I also wish I'd known in high school that my desire and tenacity for learning something would be more important than my grades. :)

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  45. #6 was a hard one for me to wrap my head around. I was overseas for high school, but when I moved to the States for college (at 17-years-old - so still high school age, honestly) I had a really hard time learning that lesson. I wish someone had told me that before I went to college. Really this whole list is great advice. Love it!

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  46. Love, love, love 11 and 12 - they are so spot on. I always thought my mom was cynical - now I realize she was always right. Such a great list and positive message. You look awesome - I can't believe you have two 18 year olds.

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  47. These are great! High school was rough. At the time I think it's hard to get past all of "it." I hope my kids can use these. Thanks! #TGIT

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  48. great list, and one I'll be sharing with the teenager...if she ever gets up #rewindfriday

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  49. Love, love, love! Great list. I always enjoy reading the posts like this that you create. :-)

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  50. I remember my own list. I can so relate to this! :)

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  51. This is an inspirational, important list.
    Thank you for sharing this with us at Thoughts of Home.

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  52. Andrea, I loved your list and read it to my kids. I'm doing it again...I chose this as one of my featured faves from last week's Thursday Favorite Things. I will be featuring you this week on my Thursday post!

    Shellie
    www.thefabjourney.com

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  53. Ahhhh chill with the eyeliner and eat the dang donut.... so much good advice here. ;P Love it! Thank you for sharing your humor and wisdom at #FridayFrivolity -- pinning and tweeting!

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  54. Thanks for coming over and linking this fab post friend!

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  55. Love this post so much! Thanks for linking with us today!

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