5 Things I Learned after my First Week of High School

It's official...I somehow managed to survive the first week of Freshman year. Just barely. In a sense, it was similar to how I was expecting it to be, but also different in a few ways. Since I'm going to a special program that isn't at my zone high school, I didn't know a single person. Not one. And now that my heart-rate has gone back down to a semi-normal speed, I thought I'd share with you the 5 things I learned after my first weekof high school. For those of you still in middle school, maybe you'll learn a few things; for those of you in high school, maybe you can give me some encouragement that I'll be able to get through the rest of the year unscathed!

(I know the picture says 10...it's 5)

1. You will never feel smaller than you do in 9th grade. You just spent your entire 8th grade year at the top of the food chain, and nothing keeps your ego in check like getting smacked back down to the very bottom again. The seniors are big and scary, and they strut through those halls like they own the place. You're a scrawny 14 year old feeling more out of place than a polar bear in the Sahara. It sucks, but hey, it's all part of the Freshman experience!
2. High school is sketchy. Some people (like myself) went to a sheltered, suburban middle school where texting in class was considered a felony and cough drops were contraband drugs. For those of you who went to a more inner city middle school, just know that the term "sketchy" takes a whole new meaning when you get to high school. My first day I walked into the gym bathroom, only to start feeling a little lightheaded and dizzy. Next thing I know another girl comes in after me and says, "oh gawd, someone was smokin' some pot in here!" I've officially done secondhand marijuana. 
3. Your teachers move five times faster. The thing about high school is you get 2 or 3 days to review what you learned the year before, and then get thrown headfirst into a whole pool of new material. Like seriously, I have to give a 3 minute public speech on Monday. This is the second week of school- don't you usually wait until the second semester for this stuff?? 
4. Not everyone wants to be your friend. Coming from someone who has been the new kid a few times, I can tell you right now that in high school it's a whole lot harder to find your group of people. Why? Because high school is cliquey! It's as simple as that. But just know that if your high school is as big as mine is, your group is bound to be out there somewhere, and it might take a little bit before you find them. I know that in seventh grade it wasn't until the second semester that I found the people I could really identify with, and from then on it was a breeze! 
5. This is it. Take a look around- these are the same people you'll see on your graduation day. These are the same hallways you'll walk down as a senior. These are the same bleachers you'll cheer from when you're 16, 17, 18, maybe even years later when you're watching your kids run down that same field. You'll make more memories in this school than you will anywhere else these next four years. You're still a kid, enjoying your last run before you have to move out and start your adult life. If you're anything like me, this realization will hit you the minute you step into school your first day, and it'll make you want to high-tail it back to your kindergarten teacher and beg her to take you back. 

For those of you who haven't started high school yet, I hope I've scared you enough that you'll want to take full advantage of your last year of middle school. For those of you already in high school, I hope you can relate to these, and if you have any more lessons feel free to share them! But honestly, high school is one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking experiences I've had so far, even though I'm only 5 days in. You'll hate it, but at the same time you'll love it, because for the first time you finally start to feel like you're growing up, and it's great! Enjoy the good and embrace the bad, it's all part of the experience!