This week, Ashley Dorough from House of Dorough is here to talk about 3 things she wish she knew in high school. When I was in high school, I wish I knew soooo much stuff that I didn’t know…things like 1) nothing matters besides your school work and 2) people don’t hate you, they’ re just too involved with themselves. Ashley will go into further detail about some of her tips and tricks for navigating the tricky time of high school!

3 THINGS I WISH I KNEW IN HIGH SCHOOL

I’m in my 30’s now, but in the year 2004 I was graduating high school. Things were a lot different than they are now. Here’s what I wish I’d known:

1. YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED, SO BE NICE

Because of social media, you will actually know these people after high school. You’ll be able to see what they do with their lives, and you can choose whether or not to keep in touch. When I was a senior in high school, Myspace had JUST come out and I seemed to be the only one who knew about it. I remember being in my marketing class, which was basically a free period in a classroom with computers, and I’d hop on to check my Myspace and my classmates thought I was SO WEIRD. Little did we know that we’d be able to keep in touch for the rest of our lives if we wanted! Everything on the web is there, for good.

2. NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR OUTFIT, BE YOURSELF

No one is actually keeping tabs on what you’re wearing. I can remember spending hours trying to figure out what to wear. WHY? If I could talk to my high school self, I’d say this: Quit dressing for other people, dress for yourself. Wear what you want to wear and what you feel comfortable in. You do YOU. People will respect you for that, and you’ll respect yourself. I went through a different style phase each year of high school and always felt unsure about it. Embrace your creativity and uniqueness; be yourself.

3. THINK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE & ACT ON IT

I didn’t start thinking about my future until my senior year of high school. I had a slew of self doubt in my abilities, and when my parents mentioned college to me I cringed. More school?! I spent lots of time trying to figure out things I could do without going to college and I was convinced I’d be super successful on my own. But in the end, I got scared and did what my parents told me to do. The college I ended up going to was not the right fit for me, and it kind of set me back a little in finding my way. I’m not saying don’t go to college; but take the time to think about your goals and your future. I never did that, and instead just went with the flow because I didn’t know what else to do. I was skating by in academics because none of it interested me. Looking back, I should have tried to go to a school with more of a creative concentration, but I didn’t know that those existed. It’s 2017; there are SO many different and nontraditional schools that one of them is bound to be your ideal learning environment. I worked hard to be where I am today, but I think having clear goals and reaching for the stars would have helped me tremendously.