High school is thought to be the time of our lives, it’s supposed to be those moments of youth that we aren’t able to get back. On television, “teenagers” spend their day living their adventure filled life with excitement, where they look great and dress up everyday, no matter what they’re going through, or what issues they have.

High school is a time of transition, into independence. It doesn’t help that the many expectations that high school should comprise are shaped by the way that it’s perceived in the media. The media overdramatizes high school life to make the movie or T.V. show more interesting to their audiences.

The “teenagers” in these movies and T.V. shows encounter things that keep them occupied like drama and family problems, but they rarely ever spend time on the major thing that happens in a highschooler’s life: high school.

Television shows like “Riverdale ” and “Gossip Girl” are fiction, it’s common knowledge. Unfortunately, these shows set kids up for a rude awakening once they start high school. Teenagers in real life do not look like the teenagers in these T.V. shows. In a majority of these shows the actors are grown adults. Meaning that the awkward stage of things like braces and soul searching is overlooked. The image of the perfect adult actors that play these teenagers, give actual teens unhealthy ideas as to what their still developing bodies should look like.

Highschooler’s constantly juggle the struggle and pressure of social life, sports, extracurriculars and school in general.

In the movies and shows the personalities of the teen characters are rooted in them joining the stereotypical cliques, like the jocks, popular girls and the weird kids. They also appear to only live that exciting life that included the blossoming romance. To be honest, in the real world, popularity doesn’t mean much. Definitely not as much as it does in the movies. 

It’s good to have connections with many people in high school, but being yourself and just hanging out with your small circle of friends is a very good path to making the best out of your high school experience.

Being a teenager is supposed to be about making mistakes and overall, getting to know yourself. High school is the perfect opportunity for self discovery. Your teenage years are not meant to be as perfect as they are in the movies, but you should make exciting and long lasting memories that you can look back on in the future and reflect on yourself.