High school for some is the best years of their lives, and for others, it can be extremely difficult. No matter how much you think you are prepared, there will be challenges in high school that will be thrown at you unexpectedly. Freshman year for me was very action-packed and drama-filled; I lost and gained so many people. At the end of the day, your real friends are the people who will have your back, always. I truly believe you are who you surround yourself with, so use your best judgment when choosing who to hang out with. Losing people you thought would be there with you forever is so hard, but I’ve realized that there will be so many more opportunities for me to make new connections with different people, so don’t settle for what’s easy.
When classes got confusing and hard, I chose the easy path, which was to give up. This has made it very difficult to catch up and stay on top of my grades, so make sure you do your best on your work, and just ask people for help when you need it. Teachers, students, friends, and family are all there to help and support you.
It’s so tempting to go home and scroll endlessly on your phone until it’s time to sleep, and so much harder to find motivation to study and complete assignments, but trust me when I say that choosing schoolwork over your phone is 100% worth it. Technology can be used as a tool, but if you abuse it, it will just make it harder to keep up with your grades. Maybe your friends invited you to hang out after school, and you want to do that, but if you know you should be using your time to finish assignments or study or do anything school-related instead, do that! It will be so much more rewarding. For me, I really have struggled with keeping motivated, but once I realized how important it is to have good grades, I frantically tried to complete everything I hadn’t done all of those nights I decided to watch my phone instead. If you just stay on top of your work right off the bat, you won’t fall behind as much.
So many teachers, friends, and family tried all year to convince me to join a sport or club. I always told them I was too tired after school to do anything, and none of it interested me. Towards the end of the year, I started to feel left out because all of my friends were together doing sports and going to meets and games. I think joining a sport or club is a really great way to meet new people and make friends, while giving you something to do rather than just being alone sitting in your house.
I’ve always been a shy person, so honestly, the real reason I have never been “interested” in joining any extracurricular activities was that I was scared to put myself out there. If you are similar, I highly encourage taking a step and trying something like this that is out of your comfort zone. This school year has really helped me do that, and I feel I have become more outgoing than I was in middle school. Joining an after-school activity would have probably helped me improve my social skills even more.
There will be many hard days you will face while in high school, but just know you aren’t alone. Whether it be because of your classes, friends, or anything else. So many people love and care for you, so don’t hesitate to reach out to someone if you are struggling. Find your people, and find something that will help you enjoy your time here. High school is only four years; it may seem like a long time, but it will be done before you know it.