Life in High School

   Advice for Life in High School

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

~Ephesians 5:15-16

High School. I have many different words to describe high school. 

Hard.

Easy.

Exciting.

Terrifying.

Adventurous.

Amazing.

Exhausting.

Social.

Academic.

All of these words are what comes to mind when someone asks me about high school. 

Some people say "If you just survive high school you'll be okay", but when every anybody says this a question always comes to mind. "What if I don't want to just survive, what if I want to live?"

One of my favorite sayings is "surviving is different than living".

Surviving is just getting by and staying alive. 

Living is having experiences and adventures. 

So how do you live during high school? How do you manage your time? How do you maintain a constant relationship with God? How am I supposed to act in high school as a Christian? What am I supposed to think and say? 

I struggle with all of these questions myself and I'm still learning. 

1) How do you live during high school?  

Living during high school is one of the hardest parts, because then there are also sub-categories for this question, but what I can say is make the most of every opportunity. Join a sport. Be on student council. Lead a club. Go on a missions trip. Do not fear to do any of these things if you are sure God is calling you to them. If you are unsure about doing something, pray about it. I gave up a great opportunity because I was scared and now its too late. I have made my peace with it but I  decided that I'm not gonna give up another opportunity like that again out of fear.

2) How do you manage your time?

Time management can be super difficult and it can be hard to stay on task and get everything done that you need to get done, especially if you play a sport.

Step 1: Make a plan

Often times I write on my phone what needs to be done and then I check stuff of as I finish it. When I make a plan I get stuff done, but when I don't everything gets scattered.

Step 2: Find motivation 

Give yourself a goal and maybe even a prize for motivation. I will tell myself that "you can talk to your friends when you finish *task*"

I notice that that is something that works for me.

Step 3: Follow through 

So you have your plan and motivation, now fulfill it. Live it out and I promise you, you will feel great when your done.

3) How do you maintain a constant relationship with God?

This is my main struggle. What I can say is pray, read your bible, and hang out with other believers. If no one in your school or at home is a Christian, there is youth group and Sunday services. I attend a Christian school and my family is Christian and I still go to both of those because they are beneficial. 

4) How do you act as a Christian as a high school-er?
They best way to answer this question is to go straight to the bible. It says in the bible how all Christians should act, adult or teen or even children. 
Galatians 1:10 
Matthew 6:24 

5) What am I supposed to say and think?
Its hard to know what your supposed to say or what to think about. You have society telling you one way and a church telling you another way, but the best way to figure this out is to think through what you're going to say. I understand that this can be hard at times; I sometimes forget to think before I say. With your words you are either gonna bring someone up or tear them down. I personally hate tearing people down so I try really hard not to tear them down, but we all slip up at times. So next time your friends are talking about the new girl say something nice about her or don't say anything at all. Think about that next time you say something. 
The Bible says to not have impure thoughts, but that is also super difficult. But what you think is how you will start acting.

High school is tough and I''m sure you will make it, just remember to live and love all the time.