By: Hana Stauss
High school. Next year, that will be the place I call home. As an incoming freshmen, I have had a lot of time to think about my first year in high school. Nervous? Slightly. Scared? A tiny bit. Excited? YES. Clearly, I already show the symptoms of the animated yet anxious ninth grader. From what I have heard, high school is full of ups and downs, similar to life. The only difference is that in high school, the majority of kids are still unsure about who they are. That’s OKAY. The best part is, that is all high school is about. Looking ahead in the next four years, I know there is a lot of uncertainty, but I know one thing I can be certain of: I will stay true to myself.
For some, this is easy. For others, not so much. Many are influenced by the peer pressure to fit in. Instead of succumbing, you must stay strong against the raging winds which tell you to be someone who you aren’t. I understand that sometimes, pretending to be like someone else is the road with the least amount of traffic and obstacles, and being yourself is the highway with the car crashes and accidents. However the satisfaction you gain when you break free from high school and realize you survived the seemingly endless car crashes and traffic by being YOU is marvelous.
Stay in orbit of your soul because that is one of the few things you have control over. It is critical for you to stand by your morals, ideas, and rights. Your thoughts and actions are most valued by yourself. Not by the person sitting next to you. Mark Twain once said that “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” What Twain did not include is that it doesn’t matter whether you are in the majority or minority; as long as you are true to yourself.
Whenever you are faced in making a difficult decision, step back and think to yourself, “Is this what I stand for?” It only takes a minute before you know the right answer. I strongly urge and seek to persuade you to trust your ability to differentiate between the rights and wrongs. Do not take the path of convenience; instead, take the one of conviction. The promise I made to myself to stay true to myself is not only for high school, but for the rest of my life.
