When I was a freshman, it felt like a century would pass before I would finally become a senior. I never believed the seniors when they said, “Time flies by quicker than you can imagine.” I believe them now. As a fifteen-year-old, I would have liked a bit of guidance on how to navigate high school. Through trial-and-error I made it, of course, but I think a little bit of advice would have gone a long way; not just for me but for countless others. Hopefully, freshmen can learn from the seniors of 2019.
Senior Adrianna Luman said, “My advice to freshmen would be just to enjoy high school. Participate in any extracurricular activities you can. You’re stuck in high school for four years, so you might as well make it enjoyable. Have fun, but stay out of trouble and keep up with your grades. Don’t worry about the little things, most of it won’t matter in a few years. Just make the best of it, it’ll be over before you know.” Jaycee White’s piece of advice is, “Boyfriends and girlfriends don’t make your high school experience. Get involved you will not regret it! Get out of your comfort zone! Procrastination is not a joke. Use your ten days wisely. Make friends and find your people!”
“My advice would be live your best life and don’t let others stop you from being you. Let yourself focus on the memories and live in the moment. Find your crowd and find your real friends,” said Emily Cox. Aspin Sanders’ advice to freshmen is, “Stay to the right. Don’t be mean to Mrs. Schiffner—she’s an angel. Don’t get into drama over boys or girls. Walk in the halls; don’t stand and talk with your friends in the middle of the hall. Most importantly, boys won’t matter in three years, so don’t inflate their egos by crying over them in the bathroom.”
Braxton Sullivan’s words of advice are, “Your GPA matters a lot, so pay attention to that. However, your GPA doesn’t define you. Try your hardest to keep it up. Live in the moment, don’t worry about wanting to get out of school. Enjoy your time when you’re in high school. It flies by so fast.” Jackie Aguero said, “Don’t just revolve yourself around the same people because you never know if they’ll still be there for you in a few years.”
The thing that caused me the most grief throughout high school is my perpetual habit of procrastinating. I have often waited until 7:00 p.m. to start assignments. This has caused many late nights that consist of intervals of writing and crying and just wanting to finally go to sleep. Teenagers need more than five hours of sleep per night in order to function properly and to generally be nice to others. Freshmen, I urge you to never procrastinate. Seriously, don’t do it! It has made things more difficult for me than they need to be because of it. Get your assignments finished in a timely manner. Your future self will thank you. Also, like Braxton said, just live in the moment. Four years is shorter than you think. Take time to reflect on things and surround yourself with good people who encourage you to follow your dreams. Remember, you can do anything. Believe in yourself.---Mackenzie Slusser