Oh and, you know what? Don’t forget to get into a great college somewhere along down the line. But don’t worry about that yet. Just know that all you have to do is concentrate on being a student, and it’ll work out fine.

Have you ever had the above conversation with your parents? Okay, not word for word, but something along those lines? And you know, your parents only want the best for you, and they sometimes they understand you more than you think. However, when it comes down to three o’clock in the morning and you’re still working on that paper and haven’t studied for your AP exam yet, it just seems like they don’t get the full picture. Yes, that project is important, but they don’t see the facebook tab open next to google, where you have to pull double duty by comforting your friend and writing about the Papal States at the same time, four and a half hours away from the time school starts.

There’s more to being a student that just studying and getting good grades. With the overwhelming amount of over-achieving students, its become harder to get into those dream colleges and to stand out in a crowd of hundreds of thousands. You have to go that extra mile! And bring the A+s home while you’re discovering new speices around the world. (I’m serious. I admired one senior very much last year, that was just one in her long list of achievements). And while you’re at it, don’t forget about fitting in.

Yes. It’s difficult. The odds always seem to be against students these days, because there’s a growing amount of competition. I’ve heard so many student’s stories about people being pushed to self-harm or suicide because of balancing so many things in their schedule.

We have pressure from family, who expect us to perform our best, and we have pressure from peers, to fit in and make friends.

I will say now (although I might say differently junior year) that although it is difficult, it is not impossible.

Don’t be afraid to take on new things, but at the same time, don’t be afraid to drop things that are too overwhelming or draining on you. Understand that your family means best, and that they’re the only thing that lasts forever. Friends, on the other hand, must be chosen wisely. Don’t be with people that will change you into someone you don’t want to be. Cliche, yes, but isn’t that the point in highschool? To find the person you’re going to be, to head in the direction towards the best you. Feel free to experiment if you must, your choices are your choices. But, I warn you, the person you become after taking bad choices will affect you for a lifetime.

AND DON’T PROCASTINATE! I put that there for kicks in a way. Because I know you will. I do. And it’s kind of a lesson learned the hard way when you don’t finish something and get reprimanded for it. I can let you learn that lesson by yourself, or you can heed my words now and save yourself from another all-nighter later.

Sure, it’ll be hard to get straight As. But if you get a B or two, don’t sweat it. Teachers aren’t there to tricking you into getting bad grades. If you got a B, try accepting it as your score and take note of what you did wrong. This is a very simple way to put a difficult solution.

And of course, it won’t be simple to fit in. It never is. But what is fitting in to you? Hanging out with the ‘cool’ kids? Or being with the people that make you smile and lend you a shoulder to cry on?

High school is hard. Being a student is hard in general. But do, don’t try. Don’t try your best, do your best.