If you ask high school students at TAS what are some life lessons they have learned in the fourteen-plus years they have been on earth, they will most likely respond with one of two things: sleep earlier and don’t procrastinate. TAS is a school plagued with students that are always too tired, too hungry, or too busy–and not much else.

Luckily, some seniors at TAS have learned a few other pieces of wisdom after over three years of high school. For those who find themselves hating school already, Charissa Chiu (12), says, “Make the most of what you have now. In my freshman year, I spent my first semester looking forward to winter break and my second semester looking forward to summer break. But I realized that if I kept thinking about the future and how badly I wanted it, I would never be satisfied. Just live in the present and enjoy the process.”

For those who encounter disappointment, Rachel Lee (12) says, “Don’t care about failing. If you don’t get the position you want in MUN or the role you want in the production, just suck it up and move forward.”

Darryl Loke (12), says “experience is everything.” When he and Jeremiah Hsu (12) agreed to direct the class video in freshman year, he knew nothing about videography or editing software. He says, “All we had was a simple camera and a semi-broken gimble that I barely knew how to control. But after day after day of constant shooting and directing, we won first place for class video. Filming videos in later years was a piece of cake because of how much we went through during our first project.”

Thomas Hall (12) advises other students to set goals for themselves, but not expectations. He finds that placing high expectations on oneself can be damaging and emotionally unhealthy. He says, “Throughout my life, I’ve been constantly setting myself up for failure because I had such a lofty idea of success. Then, when I did succeed, I didn’t feel accomplished because I thought what I had done was not something to be proud of, but something that was expected of me. Having no expectations has made me a happier person and now I can enjoy the little accomplishments of everyday life.”

In the end, it is okay if you get a bad grade on a test, don’t get accepted into a position you applied for, or feel stressed and overwhelmed by school, extracurriculars, and relationships. Tatiana Feuerhahn (12) says, “I always tell myself that a bad day is not a bad life.”