Dear High Schooler;
Before I get started, I might as well answer the question that you’re probably wondering (and have been wondering since you hit puberty): why should you listen to some random grown-up when it comes to how you live your life? Well, for two reasons: number one, because I realised nearly all of these things back in high school, and in some cases even before. So imagine this not as a letter from an adult, but from a fellow student who just didn’t manage to write these things down when they occurred to her. Second, you should listen to me for the same reason that the middle schoolers ought to listen to you when you try to let them know how to have things a little easier… or just when you try to warn them not to do something stupid. And that leads me to my first point:
1. Listen to "old people".
Now, I know that you’re probably the only person in the house who knows how to install stuff on the computer, and you can practically take your parents’ iPhone apart and stick it back together again while they struggle to send a simple email on it. But hear me out: just because your parents or elders don’t understand a lot of how technology works, does not mean that they do not understand how life works. Getting a paper cut ten, twenty, fifty years ago is exactly the same as getting a paper cut now. Or getting your heart broken. Or getting a speeding ticket.
Seriously, ask an adult anything; they know what they’re talking about, and will likely have a story to go with it. When you tell a toddler not to stick a fork in an electrical outlet, it’s because you know what the consequences will be. When adults tell you not to stay out late or not to drink beer or not to date that person, it’s because they have totally been there.
Older people always used to be considered wise, until technology started moving faster than the speed of light. It’s not that they weren’t smart enough to handle it — they just couldn’t keep up, or didn’t want to bother. If next year Apple were to come out with some cool computer that you could have installed directly into your brain, some of you would love it… but some of you wouldn’t want it. Maybe you’d think it’s too intrusive, or too expensive, or too unnatural, or too unnecessary since you’ve already lived all your life without it. That’s more or less how old people feel every time some new device takes the world by storm. Even I started slowing down and realising I didn’t want some things — like a kindle or a Twitter or an Instagram or a Tumblr or Candy Crush on my phone. I did have nearly all of them at one point, but they’re gone now. Because of all the reasons listed above. I just didn’t want them. I didn’t need them. They just crowded up my life and wasted my valuable time. And that introduces my second point…
2. Turn off the tech.
Yeah, I know, all old people say this. But remember that all adults are just smarter, more experienced teenagers. Including me.
I love my iPhone. I love my Facebook. I love writing a blog. I get on nearly all of my countless social networks daily. Technology is awesome! My entire (and considerably huge) family can chat face-to-face from three different countries at once, and all laugh at the same joke! BUT…
You need to set boundaries for yourself. Try to stop playing games on your phone when you’re on the bus or waiting for class to start. Sure, those games are fun and they pass the time really well, but you’d be surprised all of the cool stuff that ends up happening in your brain when you just sit and stare into space. Instead of thinking about exploding fruit and pixels, you might think up what to get your little sister for her birthday, have an idea for a book, remember that thing you forgot to do, recall where you misplaced that assignment… And yes, you’re allowed to turn on your phone again just to scribble those ideas down in your “Notes” app so you don’t forget again. I do that. I also carry around paper and pencils because sometimes lists on sticky notes are just way more fun than lists on a screen. They also keep annoying you until you get them done.
Getting offline is an irritating and tough thing to do sometimes (again, tech has its place in my life and sometimes I just need to play games on a screen after a long day). But think of it as a challenge. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but Boredom is most certainly the father. If you dare to put your phone down, you may notice how much you can judge a person’s personality by the shoes they wear. Or you may come up with a brilliant list of ways to survive on a desert island. Or you may wind up playing catch with that random person sitting across from you, and make a new friend.
And one last thing before the next lesson: unless you are expecting very important news (as in, “my sister went into labor an hour ago and I want to know when the baby will be born,” or “I need to catch my flight in the morning and wake up for any weather updates or cancellations”), then your phone needs to be on silent at night, screen down. Or just completely off. I use mine as an alarm clock, but that works even with the rest of the phone on silent (because Apple is smart like that). So many times I’ll wake up to see two or three messages that came overnight, but I’ll take a good night’s sleep over being “up-to-date” on anything, any day. Why does that matter? Well, I’m glad you asked…
3. Sleep is important.
Some high schoolers are already starting to realise this, and even more college kids, too. But for those of you who haven’t figured this out yet and still like to pull all-nighters, allow me to repeat the same message you’ve heard from all the other irritating grown-ups. Go to sleep.
Got a test tomorrow? _ Study Until 1am √ GO TO SLEEP
Don't get up in the middle of the night to study. Don't nap a little, then study a little, then nap, then study again. Keep an eye on the clock when it starts getting late, and think about when you'll have to get up in the morning. Set aside a strict schedule (as in, if people try to impede on that time, do not let them) and try to get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. Eight and nine are actually ideal, Six is pushing it. Five or below will take years off your life if you make it a habit.
If you think it's a stupid idea, I dare you to do it for three weeks and then try to go back to all-nighters. A little study and a lot of sleep will help you loads better than a lot of study and little-to-no sleep. In fact, sleep should be right above food on your list of needs — that’s right, above. You hear me?
Because here’s where food and sleep differ: you assume that if you miss either, you can make up for it next time. With food, that’s pretty easy. If you miss a meal, you can eat a slightly larger one next time and be completely fine. If you miss several meals, you can have a pretty huge meal later… but there's still a limit to how much you can stomach in one sitting. Sleep is not like that. If you miss a whole night’s sleep, you will never stop needing all of it back. You can’t just tack on a few extra hours to the next night. You will be feeling it for days. Now granted, some of you may not ‘feel it’ because you’re used to it, but I’m serious. And caffeine is not the answer. Hey, presto!..
4. Eat a little healthier.
Kind of like the sleep thing, this is the sort of habit that you can actually start feeling the effects of, once you get into it. Now, I'm not saying you must never eat a bag of Doritos again and have to start cutting meal sizes down to one celery stalk. I like my Cheeto puffs and ramen and I cannot understand the appeal of iceberg lettuce for the life of me. But when I have a meal, I try to include a little bit of everything: some dairy, some protein, some carbs, some fruit, some veggies, and some dessert.
Once you get used to having all of those things on your plate, then you can start fiddling around with the portion sizes. But that's a personal preference thing, and it is a budget thing: a few months ago, I was living on my own savings, which means canned soups and PBJ -- sometimes for a treat I’d have a banana. But you've got it easy because your parents probably have sorts of produce and stuff in the fridge that is more or less free to you. So eat it.
Also, an interesting fact about eating; it's better to eat lots of small meals than it is to eat three big ones. Peregrin Took was right! I was doing that before I even understood its benefits, because I just didn't like being hungry. I would pack snacks for myself wherever I went, and eventually a few things happened. I stopped feeling bad about eating my fill. And actually, part of that is because I've gotten used to smaller meals; my belly doesn't want double-appetisers with a super-sized burger because it knows I'm going to be eating again in a couple of hours. I think that's your body's natural hunter-gatherer instinct, from back when people hadn't learned much about farming or food storage yet and simply had to eat what they found, when they found it. Eating smaller, more frequent meals (or rather, ‘mega-snacks’) will really kick-start your metabolism. So will eating breakfast; even if it's just a bowl of dry cereal, a little food in the morning will get your stomach started for the rest of the day. I find that every now and then I'm a little nauseated and turned off by the idea of breakfast, on the days when I haven't slept enough (imagine that!). But I still eat something.
Another help to eating healthy is drinking milk; it fills you up more, so you actually end up eating a little less and still feeling satisfied. I always feel hungry after eating a meal that was accompanied by water. If you want to stay hydrated, you can drink water anywhere else at anytime. It's free.
As for soft drinks, I frankly never liked them as much as most people... something about the carbonation. But because of that, I got so used to not having sodas that now, on the rare occasion when I do pop one open, I can feel its effects on my body if I drink the whole thing. I turn into a sluggish wreck, frankly. Frequently drinking sodas can really mess with your body. If you want something sweet, grab some orange juice or grape juice. Maybe they're not as healthy for you as real fruit, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
And coffee? Well, maybe you should ask someone else. I haven't gone without a cup of coffee for nearly three months. However, I have made it a point not to get addicted to caffeine. I drink decaf whenever I can; for me, coffee is just about the taste and the placebo effect of drinking something warm and sweet. Imagine if you had a cup of hot chocolate every morning -- it's a comfort thing. A little unhealthy, yes, but the rest of my meals are healthy enough that it's not negatively affecting my health... I think.
- - -
Now, are these the only instructions from adults that you need to pay attention to? No.
Will I be writing another letter at some point with more advice about your high school or college years? Probably.
But at the moment, these are the main factors of a decent lifestyle that I want to pass on to you before I get too old to be considered relevant anymore. I hope they help, at least a little bit. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go refill my coffee… again.
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