Dear 7th grade me,
I know you just got into the academic center at Lindblom and you’re nervous about going to a new school, but it’ll all work out in the end. You definitely thought that the AC test was the hardest thing that happened, but I’ll assure you that you have years of hardship coming. From not being able to go outside to having to readjust to in-person school again. It’s going to be tough, but it’s definitely gotten a lot better since then. You’ll make friends that span over the years and create bonds with teachers so they’ll end up feeling like your second parents. I know you’re always stressed about school and getting good grades, and I’m here to warn you that that doesn’t change. However, as soon as you get to the academic center, you’ll have every teacher reminding you that it’s okay to make mistakes, and they’re right.
Mistakes are the best way to learn, how are you going to get the answer right if you don’t get the answer wrong? Mistakes can highlight your weaknesses and/or your strengths, which can make you a better person. Don’t be embarrassed to try your best and get the answer wrong because in the end, you’re taking harder classes than most people your age take. When you do something wrong, you’re going to have to learn to pick yourself up again and move on. Like everyone says, “You’re your own worst critic.” If you really think about it, no one is going to remember what happened to you like you would. Overthinking happens to everyone. We’re all so busy thinking about the mistakes we’ve made in the past, that we don’t have time to think about others’. Every person in this world has made a mistake, some worse than others, you live and you learn.
Another piece of advice that I’ll give to you is to appreciate these mistakes, stop being stubborn or embarrassed, and accept them. These mistakes will influence your attitude and your mindset in either a positive or negative way. It’s always better to appreciate these little life lessons rather than ignore them. You’ll learn more, and owning up to mistakes is the less embarrassing route to go. People will find that you’re lenient and calm in these situations, and it will make you seem like a more open person. You can’t brush incidents off because they all come back to you, so it’s better to face things head on and take accountability for everything. The more mistakes you make now, the more life lessons you’ll learn and the less likely you’ll be to make the same mistakes again.
Growing up is realizing that you’re not special, and that’s okay. You won’t have to be worried about people watching your every move or caring about what you do every second of the day. No one is going to be paying attention to how you walk or how you talk, so why change them to fit in with everyone else? You want to find a group of people that are right for you and support your growth instead of changing to fit in.
In every movie and TV show, a friend group is a requirement for a fun high school life. They make it seem like you have to have people that follow along on your journey to success. Sadly, real life is nothing like in the movies. You’ll be making friends and losing friends and that won’t change no matter how old you get. Learning how to be independent and letting people go without stress is the best way to go about things. Independence might seem scary because you’re all alone, but it can be a really good thing at times. Knowing what I know now, I realize that you have to look out for yourself the most.
The best thing I could’ve done throughout the years was to forget about small things, just go with the flow. If you were to worry about every incident you’d probably die of stress. A really good method that helps me to be less stressful is to plan. I didn’t have to stress about school, friends, or home work because I knew what I was going to do and either thought about it or took action on it before it happened. Planning so that you know the possibilities of what could happen next and how to prepare for the best outcome is a really helpful tool. To sum it up, the only way I navigated through highschool was to do my own thing. So remember, just have fun and don’t stress over unnecessary things, you’ll do great.
Sincerely, Your Future Self