To peak in high school is to center your identity around one label/role, it’s holding on too tight to the “glory days.” When you pour all your efforts into something temporary in high school – arguably the most formative years of your life – when you graduate, what have you done to set yourself up for the future?
Perhaps in their teens, they’ve centered their life and identity around their social status, appearance, or sports, rather than their academics or personal development. When all these things come to a close, and we move on from the small environment we’ve been so comfortable in, into the arena that is adulthood, an identity crisis is bound to occur.
It’s easy to fall into this rabbit hole in high school, and especially in the small town of Wilsonville. High school exaggerates things because of the closed ecosystem we’re in, so it’s easy to feel like you’re at the “top of the world” at 17. Those who fail to realize this will feel extra small when they enter the real world.
Senior Kylie McCormick points out that these kinds of people chase their status over development and preparation for the future. “They act like everybody wants to be them… and they focus on the things people notice, like sports and looks and status,” says McCormick.
In your teens, we’re often rewarded for things at face value, such as grades, looks, or status. Whereas, in the future, it’s more for things like depth, skills, resilience, or relationships. It’s essential that as teens, we are intentional about what we value. Sometimes we even chase a label. Like the “funny one” or the pretty one,” but what happens when that label fades?
“Students should focus on getting good grades and having a social life,” says Junior Lucas Stafford. High school is a pivotal period of our lives when it’s crucial we make meaningful relationships and fine-tune skills that will serve us past high school.
It’s pointless chasing popularity, procrastinating on work, and settling for “okay” grades in school. Now is when we put in the hard work and put our time and effort into meaningful things, not just show up and do the bare minimum. And there is a way to do this while having a good time.
High school should be a good 4 years of our lives, but it shouldn’t be the best. It should be when we stop chasing things unfulfilling, put in the hard work so we can enjoy the future even more, and don’t end up looking back on our teenage years wishing we could relive it and wondering where we went wrong.