9 Healthy Habits to Start in High School ...

1. Eating Breakfast

So many teenage girls skip breakfast. But it’s called the most important meal of the day for a reason! One of the most healthy habits to start in high school is eating a well rounded breakfast every day. Doing so will give you energy to be your fabulous self all day long, and help keep you in shape. You shouldn’t cut necessary calories out of your day, especially when you’re young and still growing. So, even if it pains you, wake up fifteen minutes earlier on weekdays so you can have an omelet or fruit smoothie before you head off to school.

2. Exercising

Several of my friends have made such a habit of exercising that it’s practically become an addiction! This healthy habit will help you throughout your life by keeping you in shape longer. Exercising is also great for clearing your mind and even increasing your mental capabilities! You should try your best to battle laziness and begin working out daily now, before you’re grown and have a job and family to worry about too.

3. Saving Money

Saving money is an invaluable skill to have! If your parents never pressured you to save money when you were younger, now is the time to start! It’s a great habit to start putting money aside from each pay check or allowance, but it’s okay to start small at first; you don’t need to buckle down and create a retirement fund at sixteen! You can begin by saving up for an expensive dress or pair of shoes. Then, if you want to take an epic senior trip someday, begin saving during your sophomore or junior year. At first, the growth in your savings account will seem unbearably slow, but in the end it’s sure to pay off!

4. Eating Healthy

You can’t underestimate the power of adopting a healthy diet in high school. The more you continue splurging on junk food, the more ingrained that habit gets and the harder it will be to break it later. Likewise, if you have a history with an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia, you need to listen to your parents and doctor when they teach you how to take care of yourself. Your body is the only one you have for you whole life, and you should begin giving it the TLC it deserves now so it isn’t too late later. And one of the best ways to do that is to give your body wholesome, nutritious food every day!

5. Cleaning Your Room

Cleaning your room sounds like a drag, but it’s a great habit to start in high school! Some people love to clean and it gives them a sense of order and control. Others... not so much. If you need some extra motivation to keep your messes from getting out of control, keep this in mind: one day you’ll have an apartment or house of your own, and you won’t want to live in a pig sty! You’ll be more embarrassed as an adult when your guests see your mess than when your teenage friends do now. To save yourself future shame, get into the habit of keeping your personal space spotless!

6. Saying "no"

There are a lot of things to say yes to in high school, but there are also a lot of things to say no to. And the rest of your life will be full of yes and no questions too! If you have trouble saying no to people, now is the time to reverse that bad habit. You should feel comfortable making decisions for yourself, even if they leave other people momentarily unhappy. It isn’t your job to please everyone; you mostly need to worry about taking care of yourself!

7. Drinking Water All Day

Water is so extremely important that I can’t underplay the importance of drinking it all day, every day! Drinking water keeps you hydrated, which keeps your skin clear, bloating down, and even headaches at bay. But we’re all so busy today that water is often left for the fishes. Don’t be someone who neglects drinking water though! You should be drinking several glasses of water a day now, before your body simply gets used to being dehydrated.

8. Taking Care of Your Car

If you have a car, you need to learn how to take care of it. Your car will take you to wonderful places, but not without proper maintenance. Certain parts of your car need to be tended to more frequently than others, like filling up your gas tank or changing your oil. Other parts of your car, like your battery, you only have to worry about every few years, but should still always be conscious of. Neglecting any of these can force you into a pretty sticky situation. So, to ensure your safety and a long life for your car, you should get into the habit of taking care of your car the day you buy it.

9. Reading for Fun

Reading for fun is a healthy habit to pick up in high school. If you plan on going to college someday, you’ve got plenty of reading in your future, so you might as well start improving your reading speed now. I only recently began reading for fun, after I had watched practically every show worth watching on Netflix! But I found that reading is just as enjoyable as, and much more rewarding than, just lying around watching TV all day. You can easily get sucked into a good book, and there’s nothing wrong with spending all day Saturday inside reading! It’s good for you and provides a healthy pastime you’ll enjoy for the rest of your life!

Your teenage years are a crucial part of your life, and the way you act now heavily influences the way you’ll act the rest of your life. So, instead of picking up unhealthy habits, you should focus on routinely doing these healthy activities, and many others. What healthy habits do you practice that you think every teen should know about?