To the little sister of a Short Insomniac,
I am a random stranger on the internet, therefore, I find myself obligated to give you some life advice at the behest of a certain someone you may know. Firstly, the introductions of letters and essays are a harrowing task, with some individuals rather adept at creating a beginning, and others not so much (like me). So if you are among the genetically gifted chosen few who can open up paragraph one with something better than 'uhm, hi...', then rejoice, for life will start off far easier for you than most. For those unable to do so however (like me), then I am sorry, for there doesn't seem to be a cure, and the process doesn't get any easier for some reason.
Now, I could give you a grand list of lessons and adages acquired and learned over my four-year tenure at my school for the less-than-stellar -- that perhaps might (though-most-probably-not) help you get through your own 4 years of adolescent angst and self-discovery (while you're forced with people you will most probably find rather off-putting) -- but truth be told, there has always just been one solid truth that has always been applicable to nearly everything regarding high-school: enjoy it.
Seriously. That's it.
Read it over a few times. Internalize it. Make it into a fortune cookie and crack it open every few months or so for good measure -- as long as you remember those two simple words and live by them, then at the very least, those rocky years spanning from that uncomfortable orientation to the somber teared graduation will be just a little bit smoother.
For there will be tests to be taken in algebraic courses that you may deem utterly useless beyond all comprehension outside the classroom, and you may find yourself on the verge of failing said tests, and feeling frustrated at the fact that you even had to take them to begin with. Enjoy it. You will look back on those days complaining and joking about how silly those exams were with close friends, and bonding with strangers over how much in agreement you are with one another over the ludicrousness of the subject. Also, the future will gift you trials that far surpass the difficulty of anything you could ever imagine, along with providing no classes of which you can take to help prepare you for the pop quizzes covering marriage, children, work-life-balance, and how to write a damn cover letter...
But going back to the subject of friends, enjoy those you are close with currently while still you can. Perhaps you have someone you know and love, someone you know will always be there. Do not take these fleeting, precious, contemporary moments together for granted -- for the love of buddha ENJOY THEM. Perhaps that friend is here with you today, still there tomorrow, and remains by your side the day after that. It is possible that even next week, next month, and even next year you find yourselves walking through the halls laughing about nothing, and just happy to be there. But then some time after that on a Tuesday, still damp from a Monday's rain, that you will realize you haven't spoken since then, and then years after you've graduated, you'll notice that their life has moved on without you, and yours without them, and you will be left wondering on the point in time your lives diverged forever. Or hopefully none of that happens. Regardless, some people aren't meant to ride with you till the end of the line. Sometimes, they have to transfer to another platform. That's okay. Smile, for at least they were there in the first place.
Finally, I've saved the cheesiest for last: Enjoy the love you learn during this time. If you are anything like me, then you knew nothing of it. Aside from the terrible standards set by films and select books, you knew absolutely zero percent on what it was, who it was for, why people talk about so much, and why Nicolas Sparks keeps making so much money from it. Well, now is the perfect time to stumble and fumble attempting to learn what it's all about. You may find yourself falling in love, that's great. You may experience a myriad of wonderfully painful firsts, and that's great too. And if you happen to find yourself unfortunate enough to get that far, then your heart may shatter as you hit the ground while falling out of love. It will hurt, a lot, and you may want to shut the blinds, curl up in bed and cry until the hurt hurts less. But (and I know this sounds insane) that's great as well. It's a right of passage. I know this seems like a lie at first, but those painful moments in conjunction with the happier ones are everything Shakespeare had written about all those years ago. The fact that you are able to feel those things are why and what make it all so special. So... well you know by this point.
So yeah. That's it. Well not really, there's a whole lot more that I could write to you about, but just like everything I've written about up until now, it would do you no good.
Life, your life in particular, is meant to be learned by living it. Advice others may give can certainly turn you in the right direction, but at some point, you will have to that first step through the door into the unknown yourself. And with how uncertain life is (especially now with everything in the world going on around you) there isn't really anyone besides your future self who can help you make the journey through it all a little bit easier.
So treasure the laughs, and remember the tears--
Cause at the at the end, the only thing left to do is look back, and those four years in high-school will be but a small, yet memorable, chapter in a very long book, with your name embedded on the cover. So as you flip through its pages, I like think it would be a much easier read if throughout the story, the main character was always trying their best to have a great time.
But I don't know. That's just me. And I am just some random person on the internet.