To the person who’s reading this by themselves somewhere, I’m talking to you. To the person who’s reading this with their head phones in to avoid talking to people, oh I’m talking to you.

You might be tempted to go home every day after school by your lonesome and watch Breaking Bad for the fifth time (man freshman year was great for me), but might I suggest that you’ll be missing something.

Yes, it’s easy and nice at times to be a hermit, but it’s something you can still do when you’re older and not complain about being old.

The present is a gift, so enjoy it while it’s here I say. Don’t fret about that English vocab or stress over Biology. For one, there’s no way you’ll remember that stuff in a month; and secondly, it’s not nearly as important as living and going out and enjoying life whilst you can.

Find friends. Go hang out and have a good time. Do stupid things and laugh about it. Make mistakes and learn from them. Give yourself the chance to have fun with other people. Look for opportunities to be nice to someone else and invite them along for the ride.

Because when high school is over and finished you’ll remember those moments, not what you got on your sophomore research paper. Being in high school isn’t about never messing up and looking cool, it’s about you doing you and maybe making some memories along the way.