Expectations vs. Realities (Highschool)

I didn’t think about high school until 8th grade which usually occurs for most people when they start thinking about high school, and potentially their future. I expected it to be stricter and harder than middle school, but a fun and memorable experience. One thing to keep in mind is that I was a cheerleader going into high school, so this could differ my knowledge from someone else’s.Β 

I asked my older friends including sophomores, seniors, and juniors, and they said they expected more fights and drama. However, my other friends expected more of a β€œhigh school musical description.” In middle school, I was in a lot more drama and concluded that I would mature, and not fight or hang around as bad influences. With that realization, older people told me certain things would not β€œfly” in high school. From then on, I understood that there would be fights but with more of a more mature audience it wouldn’t happen too often. I knew I would change going into high school in these 4 years but I didn’t know how rough my reality would be.Β 

I’ve always had a rough experience with school, especially in middle school, so I think I built this facade that high school would be life-changing and people would be more mature. I started to question, was I wrong? Entering high school I had a lot of friends from cheer because, over the summer before school, we built a bond through Blake athletics. With cheer, I had football friends from seeing them during practice. Despite that, I still felt left out no matter what. But I often enjoyed having people around and stuck through it. The more friends you have the more activities they bring up so I went to games and socialized during these games and met people which was fun. But with more friends always comes more issues and realizations. Now what do I mean by that? More distractions, drama, β€œtrying to fit in”, and loss of wanting to be independent.Β 

However, I have gone through a lot with fake friends. High school made me realize that it’s okay to be alone and not need so many friends. One thing I’ve observed is that everybody is in their world. I adapted to being okay with different people and friends and with different views. Now with me coming to these β€œsenses,” I distanced myself from people and matured. If you were to tell me in all my years of being popular in middle school that I eat lunch alone, I would have laughed in your face. Honestly, not what I was expecting!Β 

Not only that but how much of a responsibility athletics are. If you’re not stable, it will be hard so if you’re looking into sports for high school. Make sure you are mentally and academically ready or you will fall behind. I had to learn that the hard way with basketball. I thought if I pushed myself some more I would automatically straighten out but it wasn’t the case either. What I mean by that is getting good grades as a student-athlete, which is the high school dream. But I ended up falling behind and digging myself into a bigger hole.

Β This year in high school has also gotten me better at not caring about what people think and just living my life. It is okay not to have friends, it is okay to dress the way you want to, it is okay if you are not mentally ready for stuff. Now I know I’m only a freshman and have more years to go but this is my reality so far.