An open letter to the high-schoolers I leave behind: As the school year begins and I prepare myself to start for college for the first time, I cant help but reflect on the last four years and the friends Ive made who still have time left before them in what really is an superb public school system. For you, some of my closest friends, I have a bit of advice to offer. When I was going through high-school, especially around junior year, I saw people lose sleep and burn out and have panic attacks. People I was friends with disappeared behind stacks of books for months at a time and when they emerged from their scholarly hibernation, so purged through with all nighters and Adderall they hadnt any personality left. And for what, I wondered. An extra five points on the twelfth reading journal of the semester? No thank you. So I listened in class and I took notes and I studied for tests, but I also went for runs at dawn and saw a concert or two and spent evenings reading on my porch because my own humanity mattered more to me than half of a GPA point. Now I dont want you to think that Im dismissing all the academic accomplishments of my peers, they worked hard and the accolades they achieved they deserved. But what Im saying is that you shouldnt be afraid to say not tonight every once in a while and spend the afternoon watching 4 episodes of Lost or laying out under the stars with your friends or whatever the heck makes you happy. So climb your mountains, not to plant your flags but to breathe in the crisp, clean air you find at the summit. And when you stand on the peak, stand tall, not so the world may see you but so you may see the world in all of its glory. And remember that your hands, scarred and calloused though they are, wrinkled and gnarled though they may be, they are yours and will be forever and nobody can take that away from you. Use them to build for yourself the world you wish to live in, not so you may write an excellent college app, but because the world is worth investing in. And lastly, love the hell out of life. Every broken heart and every kiss, every tear and every smile beautiful in its own way, and absolutely worth it. You are your own person, individual and unreplicated. You are yourself. And the most beautiful thing in the world? You get to decide what that means. So good luck, have fun, and enjoy yourselves. Youve earned it.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:58:53 +0000
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