On this easy Sunday morning I’m reading Mindy Kaling’s book, “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns)” when I should be reading this month’s book club book, Canada. Please don’t tell anyone, but Mindy’s book is so much more fun!

Mindy’s advice to teenage girls in her chapter ‘Don’t Peak In High School’:

“Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life. What I’ve noticed is that almost no one who was a big star in high school is also a big star later in life. For us overlooked kids, it’s so wonderfully fair.”

Good advice. Will they listen? Only a rare few probably will. Did I? Not until I was a senior, that’s for sure. Up until then high school was everything! As a senior the stress to make post high school plans kind of shocked me. Then college was everything!

Your High School Daughter

Right now a lot of high school senior kids, and their parents are caught in this pressure cooker of college acceptance or rejection. So much importance is put on this one decision. It’s too much. I don’t know how kids these days do it. While my daughter was going through the process I was awed by her drive, for sure, but I was also a bit worried about what would happen if she didn’t get into the college her heart was set on. This what I want her to know…

Believe it or not, there really are more important things to consider then how popular you are in high school or where you go to college. Like what kind of person are you, for instance, what kind of human being? Are you resilient enough, confident enough, kind to yourself enough that if you don’t get into your first choice of college or get that first job you ever really wanted, you can pick yourself up, shake it off in good time, not take it too personally and creatively find another route to your goals? Yes? Good for you! You are now officially a grown up! That makes you a success already. I’m so proud of you!

Love, Mom

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