To The Underclassmen

To all the upcoming or current freshmen, you’re never going to get to senior year right? Life is going so slow, but you have so many things to be excited about and things you cannot wait for! A drivers license, varsity sports, senior pictures, and all the other fun things that come along with growing up. With one semester left of this school year, it is exciting to go up a grade! You may be an incoming freshman, super excited about starting high school. Or you may be a freshman, excited that now you can say you have completed your first year of high school. But let me reassure you, as a senior in high school with her last semester left, it goes by quicker than you could ever imagine.

As a senior, it is crazy to think that I went from thinking about who I will sit with at lunch next school year, hoping for no seating chart, and trying to get the same classes as my friends to thinking about college, my career, and how to pay for college. I am thinking of things I never imagined I would ever have to think about. As a freshman, I can promise you that I never thought the last semester of high school would ever come.

My biggest piece of advice I can give to you is do not rush it, and enjoy it all. Go to Friday night football games, go to school dances, hang out with your friends, and don’t worry about the little stuff. Not everything in high school has to be so serious, so enjoy these times you have to be with your friends. Because before long you’ll be making your last high school memories with your absolute best friends, and wish that you could have more time together. 

Another piece of advice I can give is to find teachers that you trust and can go to about anything. Having an adult figure you can go to and trust will always make high school so much easier. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have gone into my teacher’s room and just talked about life and received life advice. Get all the advice you can out of your teachers, because soon you’ll graduate and you can’t just walk into their room during the day for them to give you the pep talk that you need. 

The last piece of advice I will give you is don’t worry so much about everything. Your appearance, a missing assignment, or not understanding a class. I’ve woken up late and wore the clothes I’ve gone to sleep in to school, missed several homework assignments over the past few years, and didn’t understand half of my classes. When I was a freshman and sophomore, I freaked out over forgetting my homework at home, and I wish I could go back and tell my past self that I got accepted into college…and it is not the end of the world. And who cares if you show up to school looking like a mess one day? That is how I look 90% of the week. I promise that missing homework, not understanding, and not looking good for school is not the end of the world. 

Enjoy it all…with one semester left of high school I really wish I didn’t rush it so much and took more time to enjoy it. I have so many mixed emotions about graduation…excitement, nervousness, sadness…and so many more. Enjoy eating at the lunch table with your friends, enjoy playing your sport, enjoy ranting to your teachers. Because you’ll blink and you’ll be making plans for your future, and beginning to say your goodbyes. Don’t rush it and enjoy the ride!