Returning to high school for other people like sophomores, juniors, and seniors may seem like no big deal, but for freshmen, it’s the opposite.
It’s the start of a new era in their lives, when academics start to matter more than they did in middle school, and teachers slowly become less lenient. Stress and nervousness are reasonable feelings. For seniors, they’ve lived through almost all four years of high school, and they would like to say it’s not as bad as it seems.
Seniors at Tumwater have learned many things over the years, ruminating on mistakes they made. As everyone always says, mistakes help shape you.
One thing senior Payten Rees expresses that she would do differently if she relived her freshman year is to “get into the habit of not procrastinating…” which is a mistake she said she made too much her freshman year.
“Freshman year is important.” She reiterated that a bunch, “It sets you up for future years.”
Another senior, Dorothy Swartz, believes being social and making the best of your freshman year is one of the best things you can do. She would especially talk to more people and loosen up.
Dorothy says to “make the most of your time in high school, and make memories.”
Advice was also important for seniors when they started high school. An important piece of advice they would give today is not to care what other people think of you and to be yourself.
“In all reality, it’s your freshman year, so live it how you want to,” Payten says. That doesn’t mean not doing your work, though!
“Just stay positive and branch out, do not hold grudges from past years,” Dorothy says with a laugh.
All in all, high school doesn’t have to be as scary or stressful as most students think it will. All you have to do is work hard and try your best.
And most importantly, as Payten and Dorothy both say, “be yourself, it’s your years to live”!
