“Dear High School Student” is a weekly student life series in which a student or staff member from Coppell High School gives a piece of advice to a part of or the whole student body.  

High school is what one makes of it; there are many opportunities to explore and build oneself that it can sometimes be overwhelming. Transitioning from middle school to high school forces students to adjust to new responsibilities and new experiences. Jessica Short, a special education teacher at Coppell High School, shares her advice about the importance of being true to oneself and focusing on opportunities that benefit the person you want to be. Many social expectations are pressured on individuals such as, maintaining good grades, overloads of homework, building your confidence, and your outside life from school as well. It sometimes can get a bit stressful balancing so many things at once, so it’s very important to live in the moment and take each learning block one step at a time. 

Many authorities enforce the importance for students to find what they are good at early, so they can sustain a good-paying career in the future. Although it might come easy for some, others may struggle to find what they’re really good at and ask themselves, “How can my hobbies become a stable career in the future? ”, “I am scared to work for the rest of my life, why do I have too?”, or “What if I am not good enough for my dream job?” This causes kids to second guess their future and loses interest in finding what they’re really capable of. The more they stress about the future, the more distracted they are from the most valuable thing in front of them, which is just enjoying the present time of being young. 

Living in the moment and trying new things can lead students to develop a stronger interest in different hobbies, which should be more expressed throughout high school, according to Short. 

This week, The Sidekick staff photographer Precious Onalaja asked Short to share advice about the importance of being oneself in high school, as well as some valuable lessons she learned from her experience and applied it to her everyday career.