by Brittany Freitas

Created on: March 15, 2010

High school is almost a fleeting memory at this point in my life; however, one can never forget the immense amount of pressure that comes from all directions during this period of adolescence. I have spent a large portion of my adult life attempting to unlearn some of the more damaging lessons that were taught, not only by the teachers, but the other students and even my parents during high school.

Bad Lesson Learned #1: "Do anything you can to fit in, you will be more successful."

I spent the majority of my freshman and sophomore year in high school doing everything in my power to be a part of the "popular" groups. I joined Student Government, cheerleading, swimming, lacrosse, etc... While I believe that being a part of a team in any capacity is a valuable experience, I stretched myself far too thin. I never had any time to question whether I was doing things that I was truly passionate about. In this vein of thinking, I also spent much of my time making friends with people who were not very similar to me because they were "cool." I found myself in some unsavory situations because of my so-called friends.

Bad Lesson Learned #2: "Everybody needs to go to college."

My high school career, academically, was rather trying. I wouldn't trade that experience and I did learn a great deal while I was in school; however, the most joy I ever had was writing. I tried college right after high school and realized that it simply was not for me. I have since been rather successful in pursuing my writing aspirations without a college degree. I wish I was doing that without the pesky student loans looming over my head.

Bad Lesson Learned #3: "You have to be quiet in class."

I feel as though I would have gotten a lot more out of high school had I been allowed to speak up more frequently. I had some amazing teachers that conducted their classes in the form of an open forum. In these classes, I performed at a higher level and retained much more knowledge. I find that many students learn more easily and enthusiastically when given the opportunity to discuss the debatable points in a lesson. When listening to endless oration and lectures students, including myself, have the tendency to tune out the teacher and get lost in their own thoughts.

I still toil to  forget some of these bad lessons that were conveyed to me during my very impressionable adolescent years. I hope that my son has an easier time wading through the muck and developing a great sense of self during high school. I will try to use my own experiences to guide him but I fear that it will be a fairly monumental task.

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