The Lasting Effects of Your High School Life

The Lasting Effects of Your High School Life

When we look back on our high school days, we realize that most of the things we did back then are laughable now and that even the things we felt seem shallow. However, silly as your high school memories might be, they had more impact on your adult life than you might expect.

You are either the cool, popular kid on campus or the average one who preferred to keep a low profile. There might be several more stereotypes in high school. But in the end, you still fell under the popular or the unpopular category. Regardless, your teen years have a role in your life today, whether you’re conscious of it or not.

That said, let’s delve deeper into the ups and downs of high school and how they continue to affect us in adulthood.

Our Teenage Years Are a Highly Critical Point in Our Lives

At the beginning of puberty, our brains develop more dramatically than any other point in our lives. The experiences we have during our teenage years can affect our thinking for the rest of our lives.

One of the moments you’ll realize the impact of your teenage years is when you define your code of morals. It is in high school where we acquire most of our virtues, principles, and values, and they’re not always morally sound, whether or not we admit it.

Adults, or our parents in this case, actually worry a lot about the moral decay of the younger generation because many teenagers tend to believe that they’re on the right as long as they can get away with their misdemeanors, such as cheating on exams. They also tend to be sorry for their wrongdoing only because they got caught.

But this doesn’t mean that high school is a hopeless case. According to the New York City Board of Education, the solution is character education to develop precise conceptions of positive virtues. Thomas Jefferson also wanted American schools to include moral education, among other essential things.

Thankfully, outstanding high schools in numerous cities teach values earnestly to students. Such schools recognize the lasting impacts of high school life, so they mold their students to be individuals grounded in love, which surpasses knowledge.

Popular or Unpopular?

high school students

Besides your moral codes, your popularity level in high school will also define a lot of aspects of your adulthood. Interestingly, the “uncool” students are found to do better in adulthood than their cool peers.

If you think about it, popular kids in high school don’t get their fame by being model students. Rather, it’s because they party a lot, date young, and generally make others insecure. So will these qualities turn them into exemplary adults?

Sadly, not all popular teens adjust well to adulthood. They might resort to extreme behaviors to maintain their fame, so they end up being alcoholics or drug addicts. On the contrary, unpopular kids grow up to be more socially competent adults and are less likely to have substance problems and criminal tendencies.

What we can pick up here is that though high school memories become blurry as more years pass by, they still play a significant role in forming who we are as adults. The uncool kids might experience bouts of insecurity as adults, but you can feel more assured knowing that high school made you a better person, not someone who keeps on chasing fame.

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