“Do not dwell on the past, don’t dream of the future, focus the mind on the present moment.” 

~Buddha 

When reflecting on high school, I keep this quote from the Buddha in mind. It’s definitely important to think about what I could have done better; however, it’s also important that we’re not trapped in a cycle of regret. Everything turned out the way it was meant to be, so we should be at peace – as this is the only way we can progress and grow. 

The bottom line is that, while I recognize I did the best with my circumstances – therefore shaping my high school experience into something I could look back upon and feel at peace with – there are aspects of my mindset, habits, and values that I could change to ensure a more fulfilling college experience. 

So, that’s what this post is about: my lessons from senior year and how they could be applied to make the most out of high school (and whatever comes next)! 

We’re expected to work hard in high school, dedicate our time to studying, assignments & extracurriculars, and limit procrastination (though, let’s be honest: procrastination – especially in subjects we’re not super passionate about – is inevitable). 

However, doing some type of work constantly is not healthy either. It leads to our mind becoming unfocused and oversaturated, to the point where we can’t do any work at all; in other words, we become burned out. This is actually a major problem in the workplace, and this report – which surveyed desk employees – sheds a light on how we can optimize productivity and minimize burnout (and I think a lot of it is relevant to high school and college students)! 

I remember some days during high school, I would try to complete work all the time: jumping from an English essay to studying for a chemistry exam to history notes to violin practice to working on my blog. But, this led to unmotivation and a desire to do nothing. I think the key to productivity is to find a balance between these two extremes; integrate some relaxation (or even some procrastination!) time as a break when studying for an exam. 

Additionally, a piece of advice I received from my high school English teacher is to treat rest as a “change in activity.” Writing an essay for half an hour and then following that with some math problems (instead of another writing intensive assignment) allowed me to maintain the same level of focus and avoid feeling overwhelmed. 

Time blocking and scheduling tasks is also helpful. This could be a whole section in itself (and it’s definitely an art I’m still improving), but visually seeing what I had to achieve laid out on a calendar allowed me to dedicate enough time to each task. And, if I wasn’t in the mood to complete something in that moment or lacked inspiration, I could always “reschedule” or swap it out with another task. 

Ultimately, it’s up to us to develop our own systems when it comes to productivity. One metric is clear, though: consistently completing work for a few, high quality hours a day is better than trying to work nonstop (and then crashing). 

Lacking self-confidence hindered me the most. It’s something I’ve written about before, and to make this more concrete, I’ll be listing some broad examples of where I didn’t have confidence in myself and the accompanying mindset changes I’m working to adopt. 

Believing that my work wasn’t “perfect,” and people wouldn’t like it prevented me from putting myself out there and building a habit of consistency when it came to content creation. This ultimately brewed self-doubt slowed my progress; I describe this exact feeling in this blog post. Now I’m realizing that perfection is an asymptote; I can attempt to reach it, but it won’t happen with one blog post, video or social media post. I’ll naturally improve with practice; my work may not gain traction, but I continue because I enjoy it. 

Further, thinking that whatever idea I came up with wasn’t “significant” (especially as I was no subject matter expert and I thought others were already doing something better), prevented me from diving into creative endeavors (for example, in game development). I kept on questioning whether something was worth my time that I lost sight of the potential for learning that could arise. However, I don’t have to be an expert to attempt something unknown. Rather, I can gain new insight, experience, and build expertise. 

The most detrimental: Telling myself I wasn’t achieving enough with my time, which led me to compare myself with other journeys and dwell on what I wasn’t doing (or couldn’t do). This prevented me from focusing on my strengths and enjoying the moment at hand. Yet, others don’t define the value of my work: I do. Our circumstances and journeys are unique, flexible and filled with potential; unhealthy comparison (particularly through the Internet) prevents us from seeing this. Life is a marathon, not a sprint; just because I feel my current achievements aren’t on par with those of my peers, it doesn’t mean that I won’t be successful or that I’m not applying myself. It means that my path is unfolding differently; I’m working towards long-term goals (the “marathon”), so if I reframe my progress like that, the successes will follow.  

The first step in achieving something is believing that we can; that’s where self-confidence comes in. When we truly believe that everything will turn out alright and that we’re putting our best foot forward, then we won’t stress (and stressing over my grades was a HUGE problem I had in high school). Thus, confidence allows us to feel content with where we are, and present ourselves in the best possible way – whether it’s on an exam, a college application, or when communicating with others. 

Often, I had the most fulfilling learning endeavors when they were directed by myself – for example, learning about bioengineering topics because I wanted to form scientific questions, find ways to pursue them, and write about my experiences. (And now, I’m a biomedical engineering major in college)! 

Everything we do in high school is temporary. A class lasts for a year and a program for a fixed timeframe. Yet the true value from these experiences stands in what we take away, and how we expand upon our learnings – in other words, building the self-initiative to explore further. 

This self-initiative is ultimately what pays off; we’re learning for ourselves, and not because others expect us to. 

The biggest pressure placed on high school students is getting into college (or more specifically, a “top” college). We treat school like a reward system: if we obtain good grades, participate in extracurriculars, and bag enough accolades, we’ll get the results we desire. Or, even at a more micro level: if we study for a test, we’ll achieve a high score. Of course, this is not the case; we can work extremely hard, but still fail. 

Instead, there needs to be a deeper, long-term purpose for our pursuits: who do we want to be ten years from now? What career do we want to pursue? How are getting there? I ponder this mindset – and how high school is not the end – in this blog post.  

Carpe diem means to “seize the day.” However, “seizing the day” doesn’t always have to be a grand endeavor. It could be something as small as practicing self-care, making progress on a hobby, or catching up with a friend. The goal should be to feel content in the present moment. This is honestly harder than it seems, especially with all the distractions that exist around us: namely social media, which tends to take us away from the present, and unhealthy comparison. High school is not four years to get through; it’s an experience to be lived. 

Moreover, delayed gratification leads to unhappiness. I would tell myself, “I’ll be happy if I accomplish x, y and z” – almost as if I were climbing a staircase and I would only be happy once I reached the top. But the number of stairs is infinite, and the list never ends; this model of thinking makes contentment impossible. Happiness should not be tied to what we accomplish, but on what we’re doing currently, and on whether we’re truly appreciating the moment we’re in. 

Well, those were my biggest takeaways from high school! Honestly, a lot of this is a work in progress, and I hope to apply and refine it all as I embark on this next chapter: college. For now, though, I’m just trying to “seize the days.” 🙂 And to everyone reading – I wish you best of luck on your journeys, and want to leave you with another quote I firmly believe in: 

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”

~Winston Churchill