Top Ten High School Myths (#7-10), by Susane Colasanti

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Myth #7.  Karma exists here.

What goes around doesn't really come around in high school.  It's like this alternate dimension where the rules of the natural world get all warped and twisted.  Even in the real world, it's true that bad things happen to good people.  Life is unfair.  That is a harsh reality.  But for the most part, karma applies out here in Reality Land. 

Mean people suck.  From my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that people are their meanest in high school (middle school is also horrendous, but everyone knows this).  We hope these mean people grow out of their evil ways, like tormenting anyone who's even the slightest bit different because they think it's fun or something.  Mean people tend to be golden kids (the ones who are beautiful and rich and know how to either throw or kick a ball around) who feel entitled to treat everyone else like crap.*  They're getting away with a lot of evil stuff now, which totally sucks.  All of it will have consequences at some point.

*Note that while mean people are usually golden kids, not all golden kids are mean people.  If you are golden with an actual heart of gold, thank you.

Myth #8.  Teachers gossip about students.

Oh, wait.  That one is true.

Myth #9.  No one understands you.

False.  You are not alone.  There are people who get you.  They may not be your friends.  You may not even know who they are yet.  But they exist.

People tend to keep pain to themselves.  They cover up how they really feel so that they can blend in.  That's why it seems like everyone's happier than you.  They're not.  They hide behind fake smiles and tell you they're fine so they can make it through the day.  Sometimes it's hard to tell who's feeling your pain.  Just know that we all do.  On days when I felt so alone, I would wish for a soul mate to come into my life so I could finally feel like someone gets me.  Even though it was hard all those years before I met people I finally connected with, I believed they would come into my life.  That belief kept me going.

Since then, I've learned that while everyone's experiences are unique, we pretty much all go through the same things.  Heartbreak, suffering, loss, humiliation, failure, regret.  These feelings are universal.  We are all connected in these ways, plus so many others that we don't even realize.  So people who get you are out there.  Eventually, you will find them.

Myth #10.  All of this matters.

Only if you want it to.  If you want to walk away on graduation day and never look back, that's your prerogative.  You can stay in touch with your friends or not.  And the kids who were mean to you?  You never have to see them again.  I've totally forgotten the names of most people I went to high school with.  The day you can permanently walk away from the worst years of your life is a celebration of freedom.

Rock on with your fine self.  You deserve to be even happier than you can imagine.

Susane Colasanti, Waiting for You, Viking Children's, Penguin Books