I remember freshman year almost as it was yesterday, and I vividly remember being very aware and self-conscious as to what people would think of me. From the clothes I wore to the words I said. Overthinking overtook my life until it had driven me insane.

One of the main things that I think is a very important thing to remember is to simply breathe.  High school is just a small chunk of our lives and there is so much after it, so why worry about what everyone thinks about you? Many of these people who you may delineate time thinking about won’t even remember who they are five years from now.

You don’t have to be afraid to take risks. I’ve learned that something that is important to me and many others is a strong sense of self-expression. You are worried you are going to be seen as weird and people will make fun of you. But why? It doesn’t matter. You have to let yourself express who you truly are, and high school is the perfect time to do that. High school is literally for that – figuring out who you are. 

Many people actually find out more about themselves and what they like or don’t like in high school. The recipe for this growth? Leaving your comfort zone far behind. So just breathe and stop worrying so much about what other people think of you because I promise you they are more caught up in their own world.

I’ve had some of my toughest times during my high school years and expressing myself through articles of clothing has been one of my ways to make sure that I stayed true to myself. Although  some may think that my clothing items may not be so outrageous, I don’t really care what other people think of me because it makes me happy and that’s all that matters.

The truth is, once graduation comes you’ll most likely won’t see many of these people ever again, so why sweat the small stuff and worry constantly about how others perceive you. 

Although caring can definitely be good in certain situations (i.e.: academics), when it is causing you stress because you are so caught up in the “status quo”, you have to recognize what is unhealthy and let it all go.

Branch out and find yourself and disregard what anyone else thinks or says about you. You will be so thankful that you used your high school years doing that instead of trying to be a copy of everyone else based on fear of being different.