Chapter four of my blog-to-book project: Life After High School: Secrets To A Successful Life By Those Who Have Had Twenty Years To Think About It (or) What They Didn’t Teach Us Gen Xers In High School continues with the second of three interviews. Today we hear from Tia Austin. If you missed the last post, click here, otherwise, you can start at the beginning here.
Tia Austin
Anacortes, WA
My Life In High School
Who were you in High School and how did you feel about it?
I was sort of shy and felt like I didn’t fit in many of the social groups at the school. There were many times though that I was glad I didn’t. As an outsider, it was easier to see the wrongs inherent within the groups, and I was glad that I was free to be myself and choose to have friends based on similar personalities, people I enjoyed spending time with regardless of what group they might have been part of.
What did you think your life would become when you graduated?
I suppose I had goals similar to pretty much everyone… get a job, further my education, fall in love, start a family, get a better job, and so on.
My Life After High School
What happened in your life to you, for you, and by you in the last twenty years (how have you used your time and who have you become)?
I have had several experiences that I would never have expected. I have been able to be part of special groups of people, traveling to various places and meeting people from different ways of life and different cultures, seeing things, the way some people live and what they have to live with, that has made me appreciate things about my own life, while at the same time, questioning many of my culture’s norms, the things we can’t live without. Because we certainly can!
My Life Lessons
What were the major life lessons and wisdom that you gained during your journey over the last 20 years?
Don’t take the people in your life for granted, even though they may irritate you! You never know when they will be gone, and you’ll have things left unsaid. Times in the future when you would have wanted them to be there, and they won’t. Don’t put off building a relationship with them. Also, be an important part of someone else’s life. You can make a difference just by caring about and for others. They will be touched, but so will you. Every time you make the choice to set aside your own wants to provide for the needs of others, it gets easier to think about doing it again. It feels good to see how even the little things you do can brighten someone’s life!
Letter To My High School Self
If you could write your 18-year-old self (or however old you were when you graduated) a letter, and send it back in time, what would you say? What lessons, wisdom, encouragement, or warnings would you give yourself?
Don’t let the years pass you by, being mediocre. Do something big while you can! If you want to take time away from more schooling, do it! Make three-year plans. If you have to take a job to earn money to travel, do it! See other parts of the world! Your view of life will broaden, deepen. Then get back to school! Get a job that makes sense to your heart as well as your head. Don’t waste time! Don’t tell yourself, “I’ve got a lot of years to accomplish…” because you don’t. They will pass so quickly. Work toward the life you want while you’re still young. Work hard, play hard, love deeply.
In the next post, we will get to hear from a fellow classmate, Miranda Weller.
Are you from Generation X? I want to hear what you think! Please comment below and participate in the conversation about What They Didn’t Teach Us Gen Xers In High School. What do you wish someone told you when you were eighteen?
