Adult life is the never-ending High School that the people who graduated from high school forgot to tell you about. The only difference is you can continuously reinvent yourself, enter new classes and switch schools. What are the schools? A new job, a new friend group, a new hobby, a new city or move to a new country. You are free to start high school over and over again as many times as you want in adult life. Some of you have figured out why you never really leave high school behind, good for you, while some of you might need a little reminder.
The COOL Kids
The cool kids are everywhere even those who were once considered not so cool can create their own hierarchy within their social circle where they reign supreme. Since you can reinvent yourself several times over as an adult you can become the person you always wanted to be. You can become the leader of the pack, you can become the person you always envied or the person who looked down on you, who told you that you are not good enough. In adult life, you will still think of the times when you felt like you didn’t fit in. You will also realize that the real world is comprised of thousands of people who feel this way. People who will also go out of their way to make you feel this way. Johnny the bully doesn’t disappear, he grows up and takes on many roles. He might be your boss or the woman you have to work with.
You will feel like you are entering Grade 9 several times over. You will also realize that you will never fit in because no one fits in. I am sure it’s something you wish you knew back when you would cry yourself to sleep as a teen. We aren’t supposed to fit in because we are all born to be different. We come into this world with our own unique imprint and this is the mark we are meant to leave in the world. It’s hard living a life hating the skin your in. It’s hard living a life that makes you feel like you will never fit in. It’s time for you to live your life, the one that fits you. The one that’s destined for you. Don’t worry if you haven’t done so yet, you can start right now or start again whenever you need to. Welcome to life, the never-ending high school. Well, this high school does have a graduation day – unknown.
Bullies Grow Up
You may not see that person in high school who made you feel like hell is actually planet earth ever again. But you will meet people who are just like them in the real world. Thankfully you can escape then…well unless it’s your boss or coworker. Unfortunately, you will have to learn how to filter through their bullshit and not allow insecure people to ruin any aspect of your life. This is probably a life lesson you have learned and wish you knew while in high school. The sooner you figure out how to interact with different personalities the better off you will be.
Life will get easier the sooner you realize that what people do is beyond your control. You are not what other people say you are. Further, you are who you believe you are and want to be. As an adult, it’s no longer cool to blame other people for the things that you do or the way your life currently is. Guess what, no one really cares! They say they do, but they don’t. Well, no one should care as much as you do. I know life feels a little lonely sometimes, or maybe you feel a little lonely right now. As an adult, your happiness is dependent on the joy you feel within. It’s time for you to learn how to enjoy your own company. Don’t allow the distractions of life to fool you into believing that happiness exists outside of you, it’s within you. Whatever you do, don’t give up on yourself.
Homework Is Forever
You will still have to do homework because this life is a continuous learning cycle. The lessons that life will throw you once you leave the confines of “pretend” high school will sometimes rock you to your core. Seriously, what the actual fuck! I hope you enjoyed the holiday because now it’s time to get into the game. This time you have to do your homework. The slackers and the cheaters, unless they are persuasive, will find out quickly that doing nothing for something works for very few people.
Whatever you need to do to enrich yourself, to equip yourself with knowledge so you can thrive must be done. The study of life is continuous, so do your homework. Read the books, try new things, learn from experts and strive to learn something new each day.
In the movie Dazed and Confused, on the last day of school, the students throw their books in the air and the song, ‘School’s Out for Summer‘ by Alice Cooper, plays in the background. Guess what? School is never out! It’s happening all year round, for the rest of your life. I can’t say that those are the glory days because glorious days are always awaiting you and to be honest, life is a lot better on the other side. Where you can set your own path. You just can’t be that freewheeling teenager forever but that element of fearlessness and wonder will still live within you. Use this energy to motivate you and help you remain optimistic when life gives you a reason to question everything and ask, “What for? or Why?
The Real World Makes High School Look Easy
If you are well into your adult years you have realized that high school wasn’t anything once you enter the real world. Welcome to the biggest high school and the biggest classroom you will ever enter, adult life. Now, if you are reading this and you’re in high school and the idea that it’s going to get harder than this makes you shudder with despair, don’t. Whoever told you that everything in life would be easy lied to you. This doesn’t mean it can’t be great and that challenges can’t lead to joy because they do. The common denominator will always be YOU.
Wherever you go in life, there you are. So you decide, are you going to be the kid who always sees the glass half empty? The one who lets other people tell them who they are? Or, the one that doesn’t believe in themselves? Or are you going to be the ever-changing being who knows that life will never be perfect nor do you have to be perfect? That you will make it through and live your best life even against the odds because you have the will to live and know you have what it takes within you.
