A Graduated Senior Tells All.

        June 1st I graduated with top honors in a class of roughly 360 students. Now, I am cutting ties, collecting supplies, and moving on to bigger and better things 3 hours away from here in the fall. High school has been an interesting ride, but I have no regrets.
        I cant help but to look back over the past four years and see where God has lead me, where Ive lead myself (which was not so great) and how both of those paths have brought me to the path I am currently on. Im wondering how I did it. How I escaped most of the boy drama or how I managed to meet some pretty solid friends, friends that make moving even harder. Florence has been good to me. I even wonder how I managed to do every thing possible in life while managing good grades and a sane mind. Seems like some of us didnt get so lucky.
         But! Im here to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly so that hopefully other students younger than me might grasp the wisdom I so desperately wish I would have had on the first day of my freshman year. High school is a wild ride, and only the wise survive.
         Ladies Ill start with you. Boys Boys Boys. We Love Boys. As Taylor Swift once wrote "When you're 15 and somebody tells you they love you you're gona believe them" . Never In my life have I found a phrase in a song that fits so perfectly to the average teenage girls freshman year( So boys you say it she will believe it... use at your own risk ). I hate to burst your bubble but... BOYS ARE STUPID and If you are a guy who is reading this and feels the need to argue... You are stupid. Just accept that and move on. I found that the happiest time in my high school life where the times where I was not chasing after some boy, when I went to the Sophomore Tri-Hi-Y dance and senior Prom by myself in a group,  and when I managed the boys soccer team Junior and senior year and developed friendships with no other motives. GASP. FRIEND ZONED. Yes I LOVVVE the friend zone. Such a great place to be in high school with less drama and tears. If you find yourself in a relationship or with a special someone on your mind never fear. It is normal. However, dont you ever let a boy delude you into thinking that "Forever and Always" is indeed forever and always. Ive seen relationships last shorter than the timespan of a TV show; Kim Kardashian has nothing on that! We all have some fantasy (thanks to movies) that we will find the love of our life at 15,16,17, or 18 and marry our high school sweet hearts living happily ever after in a pool of rainbows and hearts. Which isn't impossible just not likely. If you are 15 now or in that mind frame your probably thinking 'Oh you just dont understand'... Oh but I do and one day you will see. Take it from me be smart, set your standards high, and dont settle. There will be no regrets.
         You dont have to look like you are ready for a photo shoot everyday with the cutest latest outfits. Sleep in, buy some yoga pants and a hoodie, and rock that messy bun. By your senior year you really wont care anymore.. and the boys will still flock. You will thank me later when you have a late study night and realize you can wake up at 7:30 rather than at 6:00.
          Grades. Oh how I wish I would have held on to the days when administration told me "Be wise and work hard your freshman year, you dont want to pay for those mistakes your senior year". I think we all hear that advice and graduation seems so far away that it really doesnt hit you to buckle down till your senior year when you realize your GPA isnt quite where it should be. I came out of high school with good grades, but they could have been so much better and more impressive had I just applied myself a little more. Is getting a B verse getting an A worth cutting your studying down 30 minutes just to catch the latest episode of pretty little liars? I can remember countless nights of cramming. Only to be exhausted the next day moving through school which didnt help my attentive skills in class. Not to mention that created strife dealing with life with a grumpy attitude.
           Drama. People love drama. The more I try to understand it the more I realize that drama is not gender related. Nay. Drama is sinful nature related and even the wisest of us succumb to it's ways. Guys start and participate with drama just as much as girls do. Girls lets face it 90% of our drama is boy related. We are jealous creatures and will deem you ugly, weird, fake, ratchet, stupid, 2 faced, etc. just for looking at a guy we have already claimed in our mind. Guys beware we are vicious. Rawr. You will be involved with some kind of drama. It is part of being a teenager and it sucks. No matter how hard I tried to deny and avoid it the drama was still there and I was still cleaning up the messes of it. Did you know that 80% of drama is created by yourself? Yup. When I found that out I just let it sink it. That changed my whole outlook. You have the power to make your life as little drama filled as possible or you can let it consume you. The choice is yours.
            This last piece of advice is for all you fellas. Chivalry is dying, respect is being lost, and work ethic is falling. Our generation compared to the others is the runt of the group. Being Flirty, disrespectful, and perverted might get you a few laughs and fake friends in high school but it wont get you a job. It wont get you a girl who is wife material. You will always be seeking for something you are not capable of obtaining with an attitude like that.
          Last but certainly not least be you. As cliche as that is it is hands down the best advice ever. You will come to find with wisdom and age that humans are weird creatures. We are all quirky and unique. Some of us are just brave enough to embrace that and be who we are when everyone else isnt around.
        To sum it all up... Be you. Guy Friends rather than Boyfriends (You will carry baggage no matter how short the relationship). Study... no really study and do your best. Dont be a coward and cheat your way through high school. This is YOUR education. You create the drama you entertain, chose wisely.
       I am glad I can look back on my high school years with no regrets. Were there mistakes? Sure, but there were lessons learned.