8 College Students On What They Wish They Knew Before Graduating High School
YOLO or living life with no regrets may be a popular mantra nowadays, but we’ve all wished to tweak something in our lives, take back a bad decision, or recapture a missed opportunity. No, time travel doesn’t exist yet, but advice from older peers can help us avoid some of these mistakes or regrets — especially ones during high school. That’s why we asked college students to share some of the things they wish they knew before they graduated high school so you can learn from their wisdom.
1/9Get an early start on being financially adept.
“I wish someone taught me how to save money. There should've been a class called Finances 101 or something because all throughout high school, I never even had a bank account, and I find managing it to be such a big struggle for me.” — Michael, 20.
2/9Nothing is permanent.
“We're led to believe that every decision we make [in high school] is super important, and that our choices from where to go to school to what to major in are life altering. I was so worried about picking all the right things because I thought that I was deciding how the rest of my life would go. The reality, however, is that you can always change your path, so don’t stress too much.” — Daniel, 22.
3/9Stop caring about what others think.
“Having a career-driven brother seven years older than me, I was always champing at the bit to get out of high school. I couldn't wait to get into college, and more importantly, get into the workplace. Career aspirations aside, if there is one piece of advice I could give to my former self it would be to stop caring what people think about you. As cliché and cheesy as it sounds, it's something I really wish I'd realized earlier. The sooner you stop caring about what people think about what you're doing, where you're going to school, who you're friends with, or what clothes you're wearing, the sooner you can start focusing on your own life. It's a really refreshing feeling getting to college and realizing your whole life is ahead of you and in your own hands.” — Miles, 19.
4/9Don’t be too proud to ask for help.
“When I was first on my own, I struggled a lot financially, academically, and mentally because I was too shy or afraid of being judged to ask for help when I needed it. The adult world is full of people whose job it is to help you and I wish I’d known to take advantage of it. Go talk to counselors. Speak to financial advisors. Speak to your professors during office hours. You’ll only be setting yourself up for success.” — Ronnie, 25.
5/9Take care of yourself.
“I wish I had more reassurance in high school about how normal it was to have anxiety and stress in college, and I wish I knew that there was help for that. I knew guidance was offered and existed, but it felt like if all the other students could succeed without help, so could I. But once I did ask for help it made a world of difference in my mental and physical health, and general outlook on life. I still struggle with anxiety sometimes, but now I know how to cope.” — Natasha, 24.
6/9It’s OK to be different.
“When you're in high school, you get corralled into a clique or subgroup early on. You're either the jock or the theater kid or the brain. I spent years trying to be the cheerleader and hiding the fact that I read Steinbeck at night and loved writing. I tried really hard to fit a certain mold. I regret that. Oh, and I'd also tell myself to stop wearing sequins sooner.” — Molly, 21
7/9Stay true to you.
“All your life, people tell you ‘Be yourself, don’t worry about fitting in with your classmates.’ This is actually true in college! It’s easy to get preoccupied with wanting to reinvent yourself for college or sticking to a certain persona you created in high school, but being your natural self in college will help you find friends on campus with interests similar to yours and will make it much easier to decide if your major is a good fit. Your life may be getting pretty crazy around graduation, so just be honest with yourself about who you are and your interests, and you’ll have one less thing to think about.” — Natalie, 19
8/9Laughter is the best revenge — and medicine.
“The biggest thing I wish someone had told me, like legitimately drilled into my head, was how little all the drama and petty politics of high school mattered. I'm now finishing up my senior year of college and am in contact with only a small handful of my high school friends. The events I thought were earth-shattering are just funny stories now.” — Kirsten, 21.
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