Mistakes In High School

Let’s talk about one of the most dreadful yet exciting, stressful but rewarding, years of my life (and most likely yours too)—high school.

First, I want to talk about my psyche going into high school. Going back to my article Living With Ego for 18 Years, I went into high school thinking that I was already smart and that either I didn’t think I needed any of the classes or I took on way too many things at once believing that I could in fact do them—hey, I was already smart right? Mistake. Number. One.

Too bad life works in mysterious way. As the scriptures say, But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. (Matthew 19:30 KJV)

Lesson? Don’t let your ego cloud your judgment. Suppress your ego down, wayy down, trust me. Because you are in high school to learn, you’re never the smartest person in the room. There will always be someone smarter than you, someone faster, bigger, better—and that’s okay, because you have an opportunity in your hands.

Coming into a room with the mindset that you are practically the dumbest person in the room allows you to restrain yourself from having your ego take over and open your brain up to information to stay a student, and that’s my biggest tip for anyone out there who is starting a new semester, starting a new school year, or whatever endeavour it is that you are going through—it is to stay a student.

“Greatness comes from humble beginnings; it comes from grunt work.  It means you’re the least important person in the room – until you change that with results.”
—Ryan Holiday, Ego Is The Enemy.

That is why you’re in high school in the first place, it is to learn, to grow. It’s not to be the coolest cat in the block with the biggest drip or the one with the most expensive sneakers. Which brings me to my second high school mistake.

Listen, I get it, you want to stay flexing on the people in campus, you want to keep up with the latest trends because you’re only in high school once so might as well make the most of it. The world is your runway. But let me tell you something that took me 4 years to realize, nobody gives a damn about what you’re wearing other than yourself.

Seriously, go wear the same shirt for 3-5 days straight, or you know if you care about hygiene then same color just different shirts, and notice how practically nobody pays attention to what you’re wearing. Which is what I did for the majority of the second half of my senior year. No I didn’t wear the same shirt the whole time, I still had a little bit of rotation up my fashion sleeves.

As the saying goes, simplicity is best. Nothing beats simplicity. By the second half of my senior year in high school I practically ditched all of my flashy clothes and skinny jeans, bought a pack of one colored tees and wore virtually the same thing all throughout 12th grade, and nobody said anything.

Side Note: Having less clothes also removes time from your morning having to choose clothes and allows you to focus on more pressing matters, like choosing which sneakers to wear.

But I feel you, fashion is a way of expressing yourself and showing the world your style and taste. Just don’t come in to high school thinking that that is what high school’s all about, don’t make it a priority, you’re there to learn, not to be flashy.

And this brings us to the final mistake I have made in high school, and that is not taking advantage of every single opportunity that came my way.

I was given a lot of chances all throughout high school. I was invited to become part of National Honors Society, didn’t take it. I was invited to become part of a respectable program in school, didn’t take it. Talent shows, school dances, I never took the time to go experience these things because, again going back to ego, I didn’t think I needed to be a part of these things or maybe I was preserving myself because I didn’t think i was fitted for them.

So my advice to you? Don’t take high school too seriously, you won’t know you like something and if that something is really for you, if you never try it. High school is an institution to learn and grow, and also to have fun along the way. Oh, and yeah suppress your bloody ego, your future you will thank you.

To sum it all up, these mistakes that I have made throughout high school was mainly the fruit of the tree of ego, I’m telling you ego is a sneaky bastard that comes in many shapes and sizes. So be weary, and stay safe—because yes, COVID still exists, so wear a mask.