What do you wish you had known when you first stepped into high school? You may think, “Nothing, I went through high school with no regrets and wouldn’t change anything about it.” Or maybe you think, “I have so many regrets and wish I could go back and restart.” Whether or not you believe your first years of high school will go well or are already going well, nothing beats advice from upperclassmen. Upperclassmen, specifically seniors, have lived through all of the ups and downs of high school; from the hard classes to the multiple friend groups, seniors have experienced it all.
Finding your niche is important when entering high school, as it allows you to connect with people with similar interests. Green Level has many clubs and sports teams, each with a diverse student body that is always willing to accept new faces.
“My best memory throughout high school is beating PC [Panther Creek] for the first time during the Tennis Season,” says graduating senior Ishaan Pandey. “Being able to share that moment with my teammates was truly an unforgettable experience.”
Pandey is the captain of the tennis team and has been on it since he was a freshman. He built those friendships early on, which made those moments even more memorable and sentimental to him. When you come into high school, look for those teams and clubs that you might find interest in so you find and grow with those people early on.
Along with making friends and participating in school activities, academics are important, too. Being able to create that balance between social life and school life is key to being not only successful but also happy in high school.
“Make connections with your teachers, be nice to them. They work really hard and they do a lot for us, and you never know when you might need them in your future, for recommendation letters or things of that sort,” says graduating senior Lily Silvera.
Our teachers are the foundation of our school, and without them, we wouldn’t have a school to begin with. It’s important to put in the work and effort from day one because our teachers do more than we could imagine with lesson planning, teaching, grading, and more. They take time out of their days to give tutoring during connectivity and lunch and ensure you understand the concepts of the class.
Being an underclassman or a student getting ready to enter high school is still an advantageous time because you have plenty of time to avoid common mistakes that may negatively affect you in the future.
“Thinking of the aspect of junior year, it’s going to be hard. But you’re going to get through it. If you have a hard semester of classes or even a hard year of classes, if you put the work in, it’s all going to be worth it in the end,” says graduating senior Lauren Eggers, “Even if it takes away from your social life or being able to go hang out with your friends after school and that kind of stuff, if you just put the work in for that amount of time, it’ll all be worth it.”
High school is the climax of your academic career. The stress of choosing which colleges to apply to, or even what AP classes to take that correspond with your desired career field, high school can easily be one of the most stressful points of your life. You have big decisions to make at a young age that could affect you for the rest of your life. However, if you can balance your life and spend enough time focused on school and not always out of the house, you’ll make it through. Seniors know this best.
Always take advice from an upperclassman when it comes to school, social life, or anything else. They are the ones who know how to juggle these aspects of life while creating a healthy balance between school, extracurricular activities, and social life.
