Dear freshman Claire,

Put simply, these four years of high school are going to fly by, just like everyone said they would.  You will look up one day and be stunned that you are already facing the final events of high school (although you don’t believe it now). However, “fly by” is probably the wrong expression­—because you’re going to do and experience a lot in this succinct, yet momentous phase of your life.

I’ll let you in on the best part: you’re going to achieve the ultimate goal. When you leave high school, you’ll be a different person from when you began, and you’ll be able to say that you changed for the better.

Here’s the catch: this success won’t involve the typical, movie-worthy high school experience à la High School Musical that you originally imagined. I know this isn’t what you would want to hear as a young, atypically excited and somewhat naive freshman, but let me tell you, you’ve got a lot to learn these four years, kid.

The good news is that you’re going to get involved in some activities that are really meaningful to you, surround yourself with kind and wonderful friends and develop a clear idea of what you want to do with the rest of your life. You’re going to find your niche in the choir department and writing for the Oracle, and even make it into the Chamber Singers choral group your senior year. These activities will become your two major activities in high school and shape you into a stronger person.

At the same time, high school will not exist for you without its share of challenges. The trait that will cause you trouble and challenge you is your perfectionism. Now, I know you’re expecting to really leave your mark on South, but you’ll soon learn that your desire to achieve the most you can is unrealistic and misguided.

Signing up to take all honors classes and AP European History your sophomore year will at one point sound “perfect”, but you’ll learn that there’s more to consider in life that what looks good on paper. You won’t make it through two months of Honors Chemistry and European History before suffering your first real “breakdown” and dropping both classes. (Don’t worry, you’re not looking toward a career in science anyway).

This is going to result in a couple B’s that “should have been” A’s. It will be hard for you to loosen your grip on your perfectly planned vision of high school, but you’ll realize some breathing room was long awaited. Honestly, I’m glad that you’re going to learn “failure” early on—it’ll help you grow more than you would expect.

Around this time during sophomore year, your perception of the world will, almost unnoticeably, slip behind a shroud of pressure and black-and-white judgment. Soon, you’ll visit a therapist and have these tendencies labeled as an anxiety disorder, which had probably been developing for years under the guise of you simply being driven and focused. You’ll struggle with some strong self-doubt, over-thinking and irrational worry over the next couple years.

You’re going to find help in a few different outlets of therapy, which will help you immensely and get you out of a dark time that you’ll realize so many others around you are dealing with too. The silver lining is that this struggle will even inspire you to become a therapist yourself. It’s not all going to be tied up neatly by the end of high school, but one day you’re going to look back and see the mountain of progress you climbed and appreciate what you gained with each step.

Ultimately, you’ll learn to believe that growth happens outside of your comfort zone. And most notably, you’ll begin to come to terms with a long denied, but very valuable truth: that you cannot and do not need to control everything in your life. At the end of your senior year, you’ll see that although the majority of your high school journey was characterized by a backwards struggle to maintain this control, you were able to savor the beautiful life experiences tucked in along the way.

A few more hints: you’ll never make it into the Variety Show with one of your original songs (although you’re still a dang-good songwriter) and you’ll completely drift away from two of your closest, longtime friends (which will totally be okay). Despite your dreams of moving away, you’ll fall in love with the city of Chicago you’ve lived outside of your entire life and commit to college 30 minutes from home, which will be both a comfort and an adventure.

You’re going to leave high school with friendships you’ll carry into your college years, and you’ll finally get into jogging like you promised yourself you would. Leaving the Oracle will be the thing that really makes you choke up when you realize high school is ending.

Sound like a lot to handle? You’ll learn to take it day by day, and be able to look back on the emotional turbulence of high school with understanding and acceptance. Mostly, I’m glad that when these four eventful, formative and often stressful years are up, you’ll be ready to take on the next four and beyond with a smile.

Much love,

Senior Claire