An Open Letter To My High School Self

Nathan,

You may not see it now, with all the homework, the drama (lol you don’t talk to any girls), trying to fit in, nagging brother and sister, but these four years will capture some pretty amazing moments. There are, however, a bunch of lows but they helped you learn and develop.

But rest assured, life gets WAY better. To name a few:

• Cross Country and Track competitions with your best friend Brett
• Achieving Athlete of the Year three years in a row and Overall Athlete of the Year in Grade 12
• Getting on the Honor Roll
• Competing at the spring canoe and kayak nationals

OVERALL

Sports

• Enjoy sports now, you will never have this again
  • Enjoy the cheers from the crowd when you hit a three-pointer or get an ‘and-one.’ Take it in when you hear the crowd calling you ‘The Franchise’
  • Take in the feeling of going to OFSSA (provincials) for cross country. The nervous jitters mixed with excitement right before the big race.
  • Take in the feeling just moments before the gun goes off and you run your best 800m ever at the city championships at Varsity Stadium
  • cherish those grueling early morning workouts and practices
• In every sport, you play (yes you will play a lot) show up to practice as though this is the last time you get to play. Someday (come grade 12) it will be and you will wish you had pushed yourself a little harder, wish you had another practice to go to, wish you could feel that rush right before a game or a race.
  • Don’t take it for granted, soak in every moment. You won’t realize it before it is too late but you will miss those early morning practices, you will miss the dreaded hill runs, you will miss the feeling of your lung screaming in pain during those wind sprints, you will miss the HIIT paddle workouts that leave you struggling to walk, you will miss the feeling of being on a team, you will miss the feeling of proudly putting on your jersey, representing your school or team at a tournament.
• Do your very best in every practice, even when your coach isn’t watching, even when you don’t feel like it. Working hard will become evident during the game or during the race.
• Be a leader to your teammates who aren’t giving it their all. Although your confidence won’t all be there, you don’t have to lead with your words but lead by your actions.
  • At noteworthy example, in grade 10 during one grueling senior boys basketball practice (yes you were asked to practice with the senior boys), Javier (a grade 13) will call you out for going too hard during the suicides. Bark back at him, make him feel stupid for not giving it his all.
• Throughout your four years of playing on the high school basketball team, for some reason every time you get the ball you will be so scared to do anything with it. Afraid to make drive the ball to the hoop, afraid to take risks, afraid to make a mistake. The reason I believe is because of the number of people watching you. Don’t be concerned about that at all. You will play so much better, driving the ball, taking more risks and developing yourself into a leader.
• Thank your coaches after every practice, thank them after every game. They give up their free time and give it to you.
  • During your final athletic banquet in grade 12, you will have a chat with Ms. Harper, your running coach, SAY THANK YOU!!! She went over and above what was required of her to be a coach.

SOCIAL

• A hate to tell you but you won’t be one of the popular kids, you won’t be invited to a ton of parties, girls won’t flaunt over you, you won’t have any style and you won’t have a ton of muscles. Before you meet Brett (end of grade 9) you will spend a ton of Friday nights on Facebook wishing you had someone to hang out with, talking with whoever else is online.
• Don’t wait for the cool kids or girls to say hi, to give you props or to even acknowledge to you as you pass by in the halls. Make the first move and say hi and don’t forget to smile. A smile and a simple hi goes a long way in making friends and it will help with your confidence.
• This is going to sound crazy but the ‘cool kids’ in high school don’t stay cool for very long afterward. Most of them don’t end up doing anything with their lives.
• Whenever you see your crush (and yes you will have a few of them) your heart will stop and you won’t know what to say.
  • All you have to do is smile and say hi, that’s it.
• Don’t worry about fitting in. Don’t worry about trying to be one of the cool kids. Have to confidence to be different and weird

SCHOOL

• Work hard, study hard but don’t study too hard that it restricts you from doing fun, meaningful things.
  • I am realizing more and more that getting good grades isn’t the most important thing. Get involved is.
• Be friends with the smartest people, even if they aren’t the most popular people. You will find just how much this can benefit you in university when your meet and become friends with Brandon and Somayaji
• Talk to the teachers, get extra help. They will be more than willing to help you out.

GRADES

Grade 9

• I hate to tell you but you will get bullied at your first school, which will suck a lot. Maybe it’s because you were different (one of the few white people), maybe it’s because you were alone and didn’t know anyone. I really don’t know why you were such a target.
  • The school you transfer to will be amazing and such a good experience.
• Join the cross country team in grade 9, don’t wait until grade 10. I know the thought going on in your head will be that cross country isn’t cool but who cares you’re good at it. If you do, you will meet Brett (see below).
• At the Ontario dragon boat finals, you will meet a guy named Brett, stick with him. He’ll end up becoming one of your best friends and one of the few you still talk to after high school.
• In the summer you will paddle sprint canoe competitively and qualify for nationals – this will be a blast, soak it in.
  • Unfortunately the following summer the paddling club won’t hire you full time at their summer camp which will turn you away from the sport completely. But don’t worry, you will go work at a summer camp, have an absolute blast and meet tons of cool people getting to spend each day on the water.

Grade 10

• Remember how I talked about pushing yourself during practice. In grade 10 you will get cut from your rep team (Scarborough Blues). This will devastate you. You will go play for MUMBA with friends from your school and unfortunately, the coach will overlook your potential and won’t play you. This will ruin your confidence but it will allow you to focus on a different direction and put your hopes and dreams of making the NBA aside.
• Competitive basketball aside, this year will be one of your best years for sports with so many achievements
  • Competing at the city finals for the 800m and 1500m
  • Qualifying for OFSSA (provincials) in cross country
  • Scoring 31 points in a basketball game as well as having other very good games
  • Receiving the overall athlete of the year award
• From Grade 10 – 12 you’ll have acne, and even though you say it doesn’t bother you it really will lower your confidence. Go and see Dr. Zucker, she will prescribe you some pills that will completely remove your acne.

Grade 11

• Your sister, Amanda will start grade 9. She won’t know anyone, be nice to her, talk to her and sit with her at lunch. Think back to the feeling you had when you first started grade 9 not knowing anyone and sitting alone at lunch.
  • Surprisingly enough you will become very close with her after high school.
• It won’t make any sense but you won’t qualify for OFSSA (provincials). The administrators will ‘rig the system’ and allow other lower ranked teams to qualify instead of you.
  • Look back to the point above about pushing yourself at every practice and you won’t need to worry about this
• For some reason, no one on the basketball team will take it seriously (in both grade 11 & 12). Coach Chu will likely be the blame for this. You should also blame yourself for not being a leader and giving it your all in every practice.

Grade 12

• Prom. When you talk to her at her locker, flat out ask Shannon, don’t beat around the bush and say “You want to get to know her first” because you’ll end up going alone if you do. Having said that, you’ll still have fun and the after party will be a blast but it would’ve been so much better going with someone.
• I’m going to tell you right now your grades will be good but not good enough for programs (engineering) at some schools. Even though Ryerson isn’t well known for engineering it will be an incredible experience for you. You will meet so many amazing people you wouldn’t have met if you just followed your high school friends.