As an official Senior in high school and currently panicking about college applications, I wanted to take a moment, a small mental break, and give some advice to current Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors about what and not to do in high school and supply them with a guideline that worked well for me throughout my years.

Freshmen

To my Freshmen, just don’t get in trouble. I say have fun your first year, join a lot of clubs, try out for some sports, and find something you’re passionate about. I think that’s what matters the most in your first year of high school. A lot of you busy yourselves too soon by believing you have to take all these honors classes or else your transcript won’t look good or worry about your grades too much already. While those are good habits to already have, I recommend not getting too caught up in that and forgetting about the whole point of what high school is, to make lasting memories. Go to events, talk to everyone and make those connections, get active.

Sophomores

To my Sophomores, don’t slack off. I know this year isn’t filled with much for you guys to do but never take your foot off that pedal. Your next year will be stressful, and you don’t wanna come in with a terrible work ethic because Junior year will work you to the point of exhaustion. I recommend taking at least one AP course this year just so you get used to the feeling of an AP-level course like AP Euro, World History, Spanish Lang, or Psychology. In my personal opinion and my peers who’ve taken these courses, the difficulty level of these 4 isn’t that much and the content learned is actually enjoyable. Continue hard with your clubs and I still recommend to those who haven’t joined one to please do so. 

Juniors

To my Juniors, this is going to be a stressful year. You have state testing and for many of you, you’re going to take the SAT. But don’t fear too much, by this point, I hope you’re used to your surroundings and resources. You know how to utilize your free time and aren’t shy to throw yourself out there. You know how to deal with stress. Continue taking at least an AP course and for the people that are taking their first ever this year, don’t worry too much about it just because everyone else around you may have the upper edge. Start making a name for yourself, and get some noticeable achievements under your belt that you can talk about in your college applications.

Seniors

To my Seniors, this is the last stretch for you guys, and for this whole first semester, college applications and the FAFSA are gonna be fogging your mind. Don’t worry as it isn’t that bad, you have a lot of reliable resources around you like UC and FAFSA workshops. After you’re done with this you can finally let go of the pedal a bit as you only have a couple of months before you’re forever gone from high school. Some of you still have AP exams but that shouldn’t stop you guys from enjoying your final year. Go to every event you can, I promise you’ll regret not going. Ask someone out, get yourself that prom date, and spend this year how you want it to be spent, and with who.