Things Are Just Things by Kaleia

Things Are Just Things by Kaleia - March 2019 Scholarship Essay

Standing in front of a group of young freshman, my mind races with what the right words to say are. They are all eager, fidgeting and looking around, taking in what will soon be their high school. I can't help but wonder why I've been chosen to do this tour. I only came into this school my senior year. I transferred here after my junior year, and up until that point, had been homeschooled. I never had a freshman experience, or anything close to what they were about to start.
Although my education background is quite different than theirs, I come to the conclusion that perhaps I was picked to do this tour because of the different path that I've taken. Maybe I was chosen because my diverse history has made me somehow have more information on the ways of the world.
Okay, deep breath. "Hi everyone! The best piece of advice that I can give to you all is that remember that things are just things." They look at each other, some of them laughing a little bit. Like, of course things are just things, that is the definition of it.
"High school will not always be easy. Some might say that most of it is really, really hard. You're all going to experience hurt on new levels. There's gonna be heart breaks. Not only with your significant others, but with friends. The people you thought would be next to your side forever will hurt you. There will be times that you have so much stress on you that your eyes hurt to keep open, but you can't afford to close them. You'll be ditched, you'll fail, you'll think that you did really good at something only to find out that not a single thing was right. And all of this is just a part of life, it's just how you decide to react to it.
Things are just things. Only you can control how you let it affect you. When you're late to school and your little sister spilled milk all down the front of your shirt and your teacher marked you absent, remember that things are just things. When your ex spreads rumors about what you did last weekend, remember that only you can control how you feel. Things are no more than what you make them, so make the bad things nothing, and the good things everything. If you concentrate on the fact that things are just things, going through high school will be so much easier. I wish that someone had told me this when I came to school. Take my words, or don't. I can't control what you do, but take them and help yourself a little bit by letting yourself be in control of you."
With that, I turn to start the tour. All of the freshman behind me are chatting and pointing, excited to be able to talk to each other after my much too long speech. If not one of them will give what I said second thought right now, I hope that someday when things are tough, my mantra comes back to them and helps them out in some way.