Blog: The Best Advice You’ll Ever Get

I spent a long time thinking about what I wanted to say in my final blog. Instead of reflecting on what a fantastic four years I’ve been privileged enough to have at Shawnee Mission East, I wanted to send people off with some words of wisdom. Quick tips on ways to figure it all out. But unfortunately, I can’t. Because here’s the sad truth: I know nothing.Nothing about the real world, anyway. In fact, a few days ago I realized that I don’t even know what kind of laundry detergent my parents use. How am I going to make it in the world if I can’t even properly wash my own clothing? Keeping that in mind, who am I to sit here and try to advise you on the way to structure your life?

By the time you reach the end of your high school career, try as you might, you still won’t know anything. Sure, you might know how to conjugate a Spanish verb in the past tense or that a2 + b2 = c2. But what do you really know?

When you’re finishing high school, you’re beginning life in the real world. People will look down on you like the naïve infant you are, but this time, they won’t coddle you and help you out when things are rough. They’ll shrug their shoulders and look for someone who’s got a handle on things. Someone with experience, who’s figured it out.

You may think you’ve seen it all during your time in high school, and maybe you did. Maybe you had a life altering experience while traveling abroad. Maybe you found Jesus. Maybe you broke a leg and had to quit track, only to discover that painting was what you were looking for all along.

But what has that taught you?

No one has it figured out by the time high school ends. The only thing I know for sure, is that I really don’t know that much. But this isn’t a bad thing! All it means is that you shouldn’t freak out if you don’t have any idea what to do with yourself after high school. Just relax and see where life takes you. You’re going to figure it all out eventually, you just need to live a little first.

High school is the time to realize that you’re not as smart as you think you are; you have the rest of your life to change that.