Dear High School Me: What I Wish I Could Have Told You

Dear High School Candice, 

I know you wrote a similar prompt in ninth grade when you were forced to go on that overnight trip. Instead of writing to your past self, someone told you to write to yourself in 12th grade. Unfortunately, you never opened that letter, as you graduated early. 

You may think I’m writing a letter to you to warn you about the future. But I’m not writing a letter to tell you what will happen. Instead, I’m here to tell you about the lessons you learned throughout your teenage years and how those lessons will benefit you. 

You may be asking why I’m writing to you after all of these years. The truth is, I never wanted to think about life before high school graduation. It’s still scary to think about, as I know it greatly affected me. But, I learned to cherish these memories a few days ago when I passed by the high school on a camp trip day. So here I am, telling you what you did learn. 

Let me start by saying that throughout high school, I know you went through a terrible experience. Teachers and classmates bullied you. 

I remember that one time when you scrolled through Twitter just to find tweets targeted toward you. It felt terrible at that moment, but it taught you the importance of never giving up. 

Regardless of how much those tweets hurt you, you continued to push through and be yourself. And when many people said you couldn’t, you still graduated with a decent average. 

Even when life after high school wasn’t the greatest, you reminded yourself to never give up. When one job didn’t work out, you reminded yourself that you were meant for something else – and you got a new job. And when the university program you entered didn’t work out, you simply redirected yourself to try something new. 

That something new ended up being a new field that you never envisioned yourself to discover. And although you didn’t end up working in that field, you still obtained two diplomas. 

Moreover, you didn’t give up on your goals at your part-time job. I still remember how you wanted to become a supervisor after just starting high school. You took on any job, whether fast food or retail, as long as you got a supervisory position. 

Fast-forward to now, I’m happy to say you’ve officially accomplished that goal. And that’s because you worked towards it and never gave up. 

So to everyone struggling in high school, I want to let you know that these challenging moments will help you develop strength and resilience. 

If you can get through these demanding times, you’ll learn the importance of not giving up and conquering every problem. Focus on your goal, and you will progress significantly. 

And Candice, I promise that throughout these moments, you’ll realize that you should never give up. And in the end, I know you can do it, and I believe in you. 

Love, 
Future Candice

Featured image via ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels