HIGH SCHOOL – 4 Things I Wish I’d Known

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WELCOME to the first installment of a new Embattled Spirit series:

What I Wish I’d Known . . .  

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4 Things I Wish I Knew — or Did — in High School:

I KNOW YOU’LL HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD to this list. We want to hear about it, so do add it in the comment section.

1) Treat ALL people with kindness. In reflection, there are episodes I look back on with both regret and satisfaction. Surprisingly, NONE of them had anything to do with grades or activities, but with the way I treated my schoolmates. Let’s face it. Those guys (and girls) who act like jerks eventually grow up (though it may take some 30 years). And the “losers” are going to blossom (probably sooner than the jerks attain social maturity).

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

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2) Be yourself ALL the way. Okay, this one I got mostly right. I did not give in to peer pressure urging me to drink, smoke, and make out all weekend. But I do regret lowering my moral standards by occasionally participating in a few dumb and harmful pranks. It’s never worth it to hurt teachers or students.

 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! 

Tie them around your neck as a reminder. 

Write them deep within your heart. 

Then you will find favor with both God and people, 

and you will earn a good reputation. 

Proverbs 3:3-4

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3) Eat healthy. Vegetables? What are those? Admittedly, my parents knew zilch about nutrition. But had I known then what I know today, I never would’ve eaten those Hostess Suzy-Qs every day for lunch (along with my bologna or Braunschweiger sandwich on white bread).  LINK

A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul;

a sick body is a prison.

-Francis Bacon

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And lastly . . .

4) Follow My Dream. As my high school years came to a close, I had my heart set on getting a degree in Music Therapy. Although I couldn’t articulate it at the time, this degree combined my love for music and my growing passion to help others. Instead, I followed the advice of my loving-best-friend & father  who, unbeknownst to me, sought to fulfill his own desires and thus steered me into performance (That lasted one semester).