#advice etc

High school was great. There were aspects about it that I hated and still resent today, but overall it was a really good time. The shitty parts mostly had to do with the school system; the way that high school is set up promotes teachers who often don't know the subject they're teaching/are generally idiots and encourages busy work as a means of learning (when it obviously does nothing but waste time). So I had a few teachers in high school that I was so much smarter than that it was painful (and this was a great school in a good district, mind you) and I often wanted to just decimate all of them. I hated the busy work and the way that about 60 to 70% of my classes were a waste of my fucking time. I don't care about math, I'm never going to care about math, and I certainly didn't need to take AP Calculus in order to progress as a human being through life. And yet, it was a necessity and so apparently was physics (BIG NO) and government (where my teacher helpfully talked about how the catholics came from england to escape persecution from the protestants). 

BUT there were wonderful things about high school. I had fantastic friends that I will never give up who made those years amazing. I had a few select teachers who genuinely changed my life. I think my high school years were successful because I didn't take things too seriously; I got good grades and tried hard in my classes but I wasn't crazy competitive, I didn't care about "social standing" or any of that shit you see in movies about high school, I moved through those few years with relatively little drama. So it was fun and easy going and a good time in my life.

Some advice:

High school is NOTHING like anything you have seen before. It is not middle school. It is definitely not represented adequately in movies or TV shows. So don't expect a senior to throw you in a locker your first day or for there to be serious clique problems or any of those terrifying things that you hear about. You'll find that most people really don't have the time or want to exert the effort to put each other down. Don't be afraid to talk to other people, no matter how "popular" they seem to be because that's stupid and real life isn't like that, so why should high school?

Try hard in your classes. Busy work should be avoided, but tests should be studied for. These grades will matter for college acceptance, so you do have to put the work in.

Don't try to impress people. I know I made this mistake some my freshman year and a lot of people do, mostly because they are afraid of not having friends. You'll find the people that you're supposed to be hanging out around, even if it takes a bit of time. 

Get your license as SOON AS POSSIBLE. I'm serious. If you're not living in a big city where you can take transportation everywhere, this is key. You won't have to rely on your parents and it'll really help with your social life outside of school.