What to Know Before High School: 3 Golden Nuggets from Seniors

Someone once shared a meme comparing a school lunch on the first and last day of the year. The first lunch had a hearty heart-shaped sandwich, cut with love and maybe even a note tucked inside. The last-day lunch? A smushed sandwich and a silent prayer.

I laughed, but I also felt it.

We start the year fueled by Pinterest boards and positive intentions. But by May, we’re all running on crumbs, kids, parents, and the dog included.

If you're exhausted, I see you. If your kids are too? You're not imagining it. This time of year is full of transition, tension, and tiny meltdowns over “What’s even the point of finals?” and “Do I really have to go to practice?”

So before we get into what to know before high school, I want to share this:

I hope your summer includes a few magical pauses. I hope you get to slow down, say yes to the randomness, and see your child’s world through their eyes.

If you're not sure what that looks like in real life, I captured one of my favorite memories in this blog post:

👉 The Magic of Saying Yes to Their World

It’s messy, magical, and maybe the most important prep for the future, being present now.

What Every Teen Should Know Before High School (Straight from Seniors)

Now, when your teen is ready to shift gears into thinking about high school or college, you don’t have to guess what matters.

In our Innovation for Leadership module at Frolific, students tackled a real-world challenge:

“How do we reduce high school stress and anxiety?”

To find answers, they conducted interviews with graduating seniors, real talk, real insights. And what they discovered were golden nuggets of advice no one puts in the course catalog, but every teen needs to hear.

This blog series will help you and your teen uncover what to know before high school, straight from the source, graduating seniors who’ve lived it and want others to thrive, not just survive.

Golden Nugget # 1: High school isn’t hard because of the work. It’s hard because teens don’t have tools to manage it.

Over and over, seniors told our students: “I wish I had learned how to manage my time earlier.”

It’s not the homework load that breaks kids. It’s the scrambling, the last-minute panic, and the mental chaos of not knowing what to prioritize.

Tip for Parents: Start a weekly ritual, 15 minutes every Sunday to preview the week with your teen. It builds awareness, confidence, and structure without micromanaging. Need help getting started? Here is a guide that breaks down our 4-step time management system, explains why teens procrastinate, and introduces you to the time management strategy we’ve developed at Frolific:

👉 When “I’m Studying” Means “I’ll Panic Later”

Golden Nugget # 2: You don’t have to figure out your entire future, but you do need to go deep on something.

High schoolers today are expected to choose “a pathway” before they’ve even figured out what kind of pizza they like. It’s a lot.

But seniors shared something powerful:

You don’t have to commit to a forever-career. Just pick something you enjoy and go deep.

Clubs without purpose? Draining. Officer roles without impact? Just titles. What matters is choosing one thing that lights them up, and making a real difference with it.

Tip for Teens (or Parents Helping Teens): Make a list of every extracurricular from middle school until now. Then place a heart next to your top three. Narrow it down to one, and ask: How can I go deeper here?

Golden Nugget # 3: Start a passion project, just for you.

This was one of the most surprising takeaways from our students’ research. The seniors who thrived didn’t wait for someone else to tell them what to do. They created something on their own.

A podcast. A blog. A fundraiser. A painting series. An app. Not for the résumé. Not for a grade. But because it meant something.

And ironically? That’s the kind of story colleges love.

Tip: Pull up the essay prompts from a few of your teen’s favorite colleges. Then ask: If you had to answer this next year… what story would you want to tell? Let that guide your summer passion project.

Coming Up Next in the Series…

In the next post, we’ll explore:

• What “standing out” in high school really means

• How teens can build authentic confidence (without burnout)

• Why learning to say “no” is the most underrated leadership skill

These lessons are drawn straight from students who’ve walked the path. And they’re golden.

Until then, take a breath. Hug your kid. Order the popsicles.And maybe… sneak a dandelion into your own pocket this summer.