8/27/12

Advice for High School Girls

Ecclesiastical School Caption : ECCLESIASTICAL...
Ecclesiastical School Caption : ECCLESIASTICAL SCHOOL. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
My youngest daughter is starting high school next week, and this has me thinking about my own high school years. In particular, it has me thinking about the things I wish I had known when I was a freshman. I've made a list:

List of Things I Wish I had Known in High School 

1. A girl needs a good bra, and it needs to fit.
2. A girl needs a good haircut.
3. A girl needs to brush the hair of said haircut more than once a day.
4. Almost every girl is much prettier than she thinks.
5. Almost every student is much smarter than he or she thinks.
5. You are not bad at a subject just because it does not come easily to you.
6. Getting help does not mean you are weak. It means you know what it takes to be successful.
7. Be a bitch if you must, but don't settle for an incompetent instructor.
8. To do well in math, you have to actually understand the rules, not just their order of application.
9. To do well in life, you have to initiate action, not just do what the teacher tells you.
10. Short boys may very well grow gorgeously tall. Do not discount them out of hand.


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20 comments:

Desiree said...

Love it. Am pondering what I might add--

Margaret said...

Yes. What do you all wish you had known before starting high school.

Petrea Burchard said...

I'm wondering, too. But I especially love your suggestion about not settling for an incompetent instructor. It's great to be pretty, it's great to meet boys. These are important in high school. But we almost forget how important school is as well.

I guess the one I would add is, do join some kind of after-school activity, just for the fun of it. The contacts you make there could end up being friends for life.

Jean Spitzer said...

Most of my thoughts on advice veer toward things high school students probably need to learn through experience.

Interesting topic for a high school reunion.

Olga said...

11. These are absolutely not the best days of your life. You are only at the beginning.

Bec said...

12. High school is the time to try extra-curricular activities like team sports, music, or drama. You might find out you really like it but if you don't, you don't have to stick with it for four years.

Alison said...

Great list..hope she settles quickly!
Alison xx

Tony Van Helsing said...

Damn, I'm too late for this advice to be of use, and I'm the wrong sex.

Margaret said...

Such good advice. Look how wise we all are.

Ms M said...

Great advice and suggestions! I wish someone had told me some of these things when I was young.

Anonymous said...

What I wish I'd known in high school: A few years down the road there will be a company called Apple. Sell everything you have and invest in it.

Linda Roth said...

I think number 7 is actually two different things. I would advise my daughter to stay away from the bitches. The bitches I knew then traveled in a pack, were insecure about their looks and primped a lot. And now that I think of it, they were short little girls with shallow values. Stand tall,I'd say. Stand kind. Stay away from the bullies--who were often the ones primping at the mirror in the lavatory--they are the most insecure of the lot.

As for incompetent instructors, definitely call them on that. Demand to learn, to understand.

Great post.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

Be nice to the weird girl. You don't have to be her friend, obviously she does't have it together like you, but don't be cruel to her. There are many others willing to take that road. Don't you be one of them.

Petrea Burchard said...

Yes, be nice to everybody. Like PA says, you don't have to be their best friend, but 40 years later, it pays off in ways you can't know now, both in your heart and in the world.

You guys are really making me remember things.

We had a couple of bad teachers in the same year (of junior high). The social studies teacher put the pretty girls in the front row so he could look at their legs. The band leader fondled a girl in the band closet. All of us, boys and girls, demanded that both teachers be fired. The principal refused. We united. We demonstrated. We went to the newspapers, to our parents, to radio. We got them fired, and the principal didn't return the following year, either.

1968 was a different time, of course. We were only 13 but we were unstoppable. And what a powerful lesson we learned.

Margaret said...

Oh, you are all so wise. Petrea, that is an amazing story. Go class of 1968! I definitely had my share of bad teachers. I had at least three horrible math teachers, and I was weak at math to begin with. It never occurred to me at the time that I could have tried to change teachers, or that I could have tried to get extra help. I just didn't know.

Rois said...

I went to school in a rough part of town so my advice would be similar to
what L.W Roth said above but will add if your school is rough keep the peace and stay on speaking terms with the scary tough girls.They end up not bugging you and are like having insurance that no one else is going to mess with you.

In high school I helped the toughest girl in our school with some math, after that this skinny mixed race girl was safe from all harm.Never thought being good in math would be so helpful.

Addey said...

My advice is the same I gave a young(er than me) man today when he was lamenting the fact he was single again... "Be true to yourself".

Don't be someone you aren't just to make someone else happy. That someone else could be a teacher, a friend or a potential lover or a family member. Embrace what makes you "you" and listen to it. It takes a lot of strength to be yourself no matter what happens. But you'll be so much happier for it in the long run.

Susan Campisi said...

Number 9 is my personal favorite. Sounds like Petrea and her posse understood this. Very impressive, P.

Petrea Burchard said...

I like Addey's advice, too. That's so important and maybe the hardest one to learn. At least it was for me.

TheChieftess said...

Haha!!! My mom used to tell me two of the most important things in life is having a good bra and a good bed!!!

Great list/advice for your daughter!!!