1. Enjoy the ride!
2. Engage genuinely, not to look accomplished on paper.
3. Talk to that person you think seems cool!
4. Take time to regularly reflect on your values.
5. Develop an organizational system if you have not already!
6. Rely on yourself and truly try to make yourself the person you would like to be.
7. Know your limits — you cannot be taking seven AP courses, be in a sport, be in a club, work during school, have a good social life and not be burnt out at the same time.
8. Don’t just create good relationships with your peers, but with your teachers too.
9. It’s okay if your aspirations change over time.
10. Study for the SAT over the summer.
11. Remember that your counselors are there for whatever you need, whether it’s academic or mental.
12. Remember that you are NOT “behind” anyone else — you get to set your own path and pace.
13. Don’t do something because your family or your friends want you to. Identify what you truly want, and stand by it.
14. Plumbers make a lot of money — just saying.
15. It’s never too early to start college prep.
16. Trust that you will find your sense of self — it takes time.
17. Treating people with love and kindness is never a waste.
18. The only thing you will ever lose by being real is what is fake.
19. Don’t trip over the things behind you.
20. One small negative thing is a small part of your day. You can turn anything around.
21. Stand your ground. Always be open to criticism but never waiver when you know you’re in the right.
22. Take care of and listen to your body.
23. Be open to change; we (and everything around us) are constantly changing.
24. It. Will. Work. Out.