Dear High School Students

Dear High School Students,
     I know that you look at me and see a teacher, therefore, you think I must not have a clue.  In reality, I might just have an idea of what's going on more than you think.  I was speaking to some of my dear friends that I had in high school recently.  The same comment came up again and again.  "If I had known then, what I know now." As a high school student you are pretty much certain that your parents do not understand what it's like to be a high school student now.  Well guess what, they don't!  Yep, they don't know exactly what it's like to be a high school student in 2012.  What YOU don't realize is that while they might not get the exact stuff you're going through, some things in high school remain the same as they were 20, 30, and 40 years ago.  There have been people picking on other people as long as school has been around.  Guess what, those mean girls...they were around when your parents were in high school too.  The popular girls who made life hard on you, they were there too.  The guys who picked on the other guys in the locker room, yep, they were there too.  Oh, the guys who made fun of people(because really they were trying to take the focus off themselves) they were there as well.  The loners, the popular people, the music people, the geeks, the freaks, the people praying to fit in or just be invisible because they just would rather not be noticed than be the butt of a joke...they were all there.  I know with the advances of technology things are SO much different now, and the pressures to get into college or get good grades seem a lot higher.  My point really is that I might be a teacher, but I see what's going on every single day.  Students don't think we teachers notice, or care, or really understand.  Truth is, we care more than you know.  We care.  We want to help, but some students are so stuck on assuming that we'll never get it, they don't even give us a chance.  Parents are the same.  You are so stuck on assuming that parents CAN'T understand, you don't even give them the chance to try.  You know, you might be surprised to find out, once in a while, an adult CAN relate.
If I could go back to high school knowing what I know now, things would be a lot different.  I would be kinder.  I would realize those "perfect" kids didn't all have it perfect.  I would care less what people thought about me, and just try to be a good person.  I would pay attention to school work more.  I would try harder in my classes.  I would try something different, like a club or a sport, just to meet new people...even if I assumed that all the people in those "groups" wouldn't like me.  I would have shared more with my Dad.  I would realize the gossipers would eventually be gossiped about, but not judge them, because I have no idea what they are going through.  Did I mention I would be kinder...to everyone!  No one ever felt badly for being kind.  Overall my dear high school students, someday you'll look back at high school and say the same thing, "If I had known then what I know now."  It's a good thing though, because it means you learned something along the way.  Of course, right now some of you think you know it all, but I promise you this...you will NOT be the same person 12 years from now, so think twice about life changing decisions you make while you're young!
Hope that this school year is amazing for everyone!
Love,
Your Teacher