What I Learnt From School

Hello Earthlings,

In typical Lia style I disappeared off the face of the earth for a little bit and suddenly here I am. I guess you could say I’ve been a little bit busy with exams and what not and overall being a stressy mess but what’s new? So, here I am returning to my little internet space. I decided to do today’s post as a celebration to the fact that I have finished my A Levels and get a bit philosophical about what I personally learnt from my time at school. Grab a cuppa tea and have a bit of a gander. P.S. thank you for actually reading this post considering I completely disappeared into the realms of the unknown.

People who are your friends may not always be your friends and that is okay.

This is always something that completely baffled me, I’d hear people say “we just grew apart” and I’d be confused, I didn’t understand how you could go from being so close to someone to then not even smiling as you go past each other. But now I do understand it, I understand that as you grow up you change and sometimes you become polar-opposites. I think it is important for you to realise that this isn’t necessarily your fault, or their fault, it just kind of happens and sometimes it may be difficult for you to accept but everything happens for a reason.

Not every 'popular' person will be horrible, just like not every 'shy' person will be kind.

Personally, I feel like there has always been this stereotype that surrounds the ‘popular’ group of people. I mean it is definitely courtesy of chick-flicks and TV series but you automatically assume that every person who fits the ‘popular’ breed are going to be a complete bitch and you’ll always feel intimidated and I will admit, I have met several people like that but I’ve also been pleasantly surprised with how nice people are. Some of the ‘popular’ people are so genuine and lovely yet some of the ‘shy’ people who are painted as innocent and lovely in films etc aren’t as nice as you’d expect. This kind of brings meaning to the quote, “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

All you can do is try your best.

I have been very lucky because my parents have always told me that my best is good enough, yet I know for others this isn’t the case. So, I’m going to tell you, the reality of school, and life really, is that all you can do is try your best because no one can expect more than that because you’ll not be able to deliver it. Yet this isn’t something to be ashamed of because if you put 100% into something and know that you’ve given it everything you can then you can’t be disappointed. Once you accept this and acknowledge the fact that you aren’t a complete superhero then you’ll start to accept your rewards more.

Don't plan crazy lists of schoolwork to do at the weekend.

It was always a bit of a bore whenever a teacher said “do your homework the night it gets set” but it is also so much better to do it this way. I can’t say I did this all the time and I have definitely learnt from my mistakes that leaving everything until Sunday night the day before you return to school from the holidays or even the weekend because trust me on this, you’ll regret it. It is important though to give yourself some time to spend on yourself, whether that be indulging in some self-care or spending time with friends and family.

People bitch about each other. 

You can sit here and read this blog and think “I don’t do that” but the truth is, at some points of our school life and probably life in general we all bitch about someone. This is typical in a school environment because you spend a lot of time with the same people in an enclose space so it is natural for you to get a little bit annoyed with them. Some people bitch more than others and some people grow out of it. The odds are you’ll always find someone who has something bad to say about everyone and because they’re doing it you’ll think “oh yeah I agree” and join in. Don’t feel bad about this because I guarantee everyone will do it, it’s how you react once you realise that there’s more to life than being bitchy that matters.

It is okay not to love school.

This is one I think a lot of people will understand and this is because I think we are programmed to believe that secondary school will be the “best five years of your life” and if it isn’t you feel like the odd one out and as if you’ve done something wrong. When I left secondary school I can tell you right now that if they had to be the best five years of my life then I was dreading what the rest of my life was going to be like, because yeah I made loads of good memories there but I also have a lot of my time there that I would like to put in a box and lose the box. But then I thought about it and really, as Hannah Montana once sang “life’s what you make it” so I know that I could choose another five years and make them the best years of my life. So, please don’t be discouraged if you don’t love school; some people do and some people don’t.

I wanted to write these little points as a reminder to myself of whe n I think about what I gained from school and to turn the page to end the chapter on my time at school.

Have a great week and I shall return next Sunday!

Lia x