The Key to High School.

I woke up this morning and found myself freaking out. Why? I have school tomorrow. And I am not prepared in even the slightest. I usually have to give myself 2-3 weeks to mentally prepare, at bare minimum. I now have less than 24 hours to come to terms with the fact that I'm going to be sitting at a desk for 6 1/2 hours for 5 days a week.
You know what I think is funny? How many girls sit in their room for hours on end deciding what to wear for the first day of school? How early do they wake up to look like I looked when I went to prom? I don't know about you, but it's not even worth it to me. Today I was trying to decide which outfit would be more comfortable. Guess what I'm wearing.
A white v-neck.
Light Jacket.
Jeans.
and high tops. Ah, High School.




Errant thought: So I was skimming through blogs today and I found a post about Swag. ahahaha Swag. Adults frown upon it, thinking it's some teenage slang. Teenagers either use the word properly, or misuse it to the point of corruption. I think I should clear things up.
What is Swag? It is simple. Either you have it, or you don't.


Which leads me into...


SWAG.


Urban Dictionary has a rather good definition.


"The way in which you carry yourself. Swag is made up of your overall confidence, style, and demeanor. Swag can also be expanded to be the reputation of your overall swagger. You gain swag, or “Swag up”, by performing swag worthy actions that improve this perception. A person can also “swag down,” by being an overall lame-face and garnering negative swag for their actions. Swag is a subtle thing that many strive to gain but few actually attain. It is reserved for the most swagalicious of people. Swag can also be quantified, with point systems existing in some circles of friends."
P.S. Swagalicious? Umm. Love.



You're unable to define define swag if you don’t have it. It’s something you feel. And how do I know this? Well, that leads me perfectly into the first rule of acquiring swag:

1) Knowing that you have swag.

This is crucial, but also dangerous. The biggest key to having swag is being confident. However, the easiest way to "de-swag" yourself is to be overconfident. YOu want people to admire you, not despise you. If you walk around thinking that you're the bomb, well, then, you have no swag and never did. Sorry, bud. 

But confidence is everything. You can’t ever expect anyone to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself. How can you accomplish this? Here’s how you start:

Look in the mirror every morning and find one thing that you like about yourself. I know it seems hard now, but it's really not. Pretty soon you'll start to realize how legit you truly are. 

One you accomplish this, then you can start getting accustomed to the idea of having self-confidence. Keep looking in the mirror, and find new things that you like about yourself. That way, you start your day in a good mood, and you’re ready for the day. Which brings me to my next point of how to acquire — and maintain — swag.

2) Don’t let others ruin your swag.

Lets get real. This world is chock full of unappreciative, sad, miserable people. They treat every day like it's the worst, and all they want to do is bring others down with them.

We call these people “swag-enemies.”

Don’t let these people bring you down. Let whatever insults they throw at you roll right off your skin. In fact, smile at them, and don’t be afraid to even laugh along with whatever they say to you. Once they notice your unassuming, modest demeanor, they’ll realize it’s a lost cause, and maybe you’ll even gain their respect (not that you even need it.) Because you have swag.  Well, almost. 

This is key. Letting other people drag you down is the easiest way to lose your swag. But, in truth, they just sense your swag and it makes them feel worse about themselves. It’s not your fault. Besides, who cares what they think about you? If you know you got swag (see rule #1), than their opinion does not matter.

But, remember, don’t just reserve your smiles for them. Smile at everyone. Be friendly. Having swag doesn’t isolate you from the rest of society. That’s another way to lose your swag. True swag means full acceptance of all people. No one in this world is not good enough for you. No one.

But that doesn’t mean that you still aren't able to flaunt your swag. Which brings me to rule #3.

3) Don’t slouch.

My dad always reminds me to have good posture. It's gives a person a sense of being. Seeing a person slouch is the easiest way to detect lack-of-swag. Walking around with a defeated expression, and acting like you’ve been given a raw hand in life is the antithesis of swag.

Body language is everything. Step strongly, hold your head high, and you will automatically have a commanding presence. People will know when you are there. In the rare case that you ever do find yourself slouching, stand up straight and remind yourself of those things that you like about yourself. It should have an immediate effect.

4) Look your best.

Now I’m not saying you need to hit up the mall right now and buy some expensive clothing; just do the best with what you can. How you present yourself is an important part of the swag-process.

Most importantly, do NOT try to look like somebody else. Be yourself, and make sure that you are comfortable with what you wear. Most importantly, wear whatever gives you the most confidence. Swag is an individual thing. It wouldn't be swag if everyone had it.

5) Set daily expectations for yourself.

These expectations don’t have to be huge. Set expectations in the morning. Simple things like “Have a good day at school,” or “Have a positive interaction with one of your teachers instead of wanting to yell at them,” or “Catch up with so-and-so who you haven’t talked to in a while.” Things like that. If you completed this one simple task, then you reached your expectations, and you maintained your swag.

6) Stay positive all day long.

The day is 24 hours long. It’s a long time, I know. Being happy for half of it is not good enough. Don’t ever let the little things in life take away from your swag. If you feel like life is becoming repetitive, set new, reachable expectations for yourself.

Having swag is not a part-time job.

7) Fine-tune your swag.

Swag is like fashion. It changes and evolves every day. Since there’s no one definition for it, you have to use your swag-instincts and figure it out yourself. It's a learning process. Perhaps make small adjustments in your social life, like cutting out a bad influence in your life, or adding a new word to your vocabulary. There’s no one way to go about it, so be creative!

8 ) Repeat everyday.

Only by accomplishing all of this can one obtain swag. I never said it was easy, and I certainly never said that it was an overnight process. It will take a while.

The most important thing about having swag is being confident and secure with the person that you are. Because if you don’t have that, then you will never have swag.

Go on, try it. When you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and say just one simple thing that you like about yourself. And don’t forget it.

Before you know it, you will be on the road to becoming swagtastic.

This, is your key to High School. 

Should I say you're welcome?