05 Nov 2017

High school is an awkward period in nearly every single person’s life. It’s a time of confusion and uncertainty, where you are no longer a child and not yet an adult.

It’s a time where you are trying to figure out who you are, in a sea of other people who are also trying to figure out who they are, and the only way to do it is through new experiences (and mistakes)–which means high school is the best time to make them. 

So, get drunk, stay out too late, sleep through your 9am class, fail an exam, fight with your friends, kiss the wrong people and make all the wrong decisions. Do it while you’re still young and aren’t weighed down with responsibilities; take this chance to figure out the world while you can.

1. Prep for future you

If you don’t make the mistakes now while you’re young (and to be honest, now is the time when you’re practically expected to be f*cking up every now and then), you will most likely make them later on when things in your life have gotten a bit more serious. Wouldn’t you rather have experienced asking out a crush, getting rejected, throwing up at party or failing an exam now when you can brush it off as a learning experience rather than later on down the track when you have a lot more people relying on you?

2. Develop your opinions

Growing up you probably mimicked a lot of what your parents told you (which isn’t always a bad thing). But eventually, you’ll get to a point where you’ll start speaking up with your own opinions and thoughts. High school is the perfect time to start doing this because you’re exposed to heaps of different people, like your friends and your teachers, who will have a range of different opinions on different things. Even if you don’t know exactly what you’re talking about 90% of the time, every time you talk to someone new you’re giving yourself a new chance to hear fresh ideas and perspectives on the world.

3. Your best mates will stick around

Mistakes bring out the best (and worst) in people, and help to show you who matters most. If you make a mistake you’ll be able to sus out who your true friends really are. Whether it’s getting smashed on your first night out and barely being able to stagger home, or failing an exam, the mates who stick by you and hold your hair back or remind you that marks aren’t everything are the one’s worth keeping around. At the end of the day it’s the mistakes and silly adventures that we remember each other by the most after high school.

4. Your ‘rents have your back

Many people are lucky enough to have at least one person that loves them unconditionally. Usually it’s your ‘rents but sometimes it might be a big brother or sister, your best mate, an aunty, family friend or your favourite teacher who’s always looking out for you. High school is the time to make mistakes because you still have a massive safety net of people who will help you out and pick you back up.

5. High school ends

If worst really comes to worst and you are absolutely mortified by your mistakes and experiences, just know that high school does end eventually. One day, you’ll walk out those school gates for the last time ever and have no obligation to the people you spent the last six years with. You’ll be able to start fresh at uni or work (or whatever you choose to do post high school) and eventually, everyone will forget about whatever mistakes you might have made.