From personal experience, I know freshman year can seem so intimidating. Big school, new teachers, and your friends being spread out all over the school resulting in you barely seeing them. Trust me when I say though that freshman year is your time to shine and establish your place as a student here at Lindale High School. But, to help you newbies out, I have compiled a list of the top 10 things you should know to have a successful freshman year!
1. Take your freshman year seriously, please. Your freshman year is going to affect your whole high school experience, both academically and socially. Do your best in every class and start building your GPA as high as you can while you have the chance. The lower your GPA is your first year, the harder it’s going to be for it to rise when it really counts. You may think it’s funny to slack off and just play around in class, but news flash: no one thinks you’re cool and all you’re doing is losing the respect of your teachers and peers.
2. You don’t have to have a multitude of friends to have fun in high school. I’ve learned that it’s honestly better to have those two to three close friends who you know you can trust than multiple fake friends. All of that to say though, don’t be scared to meet new people. There are so many people in high school and so many groups you can join. A huge thing for high school is to be friendly to everyone but don’t try to best be friends with everyone. It causes too much drama, and that’s not what your high school experience should center around.
3. To add on to the subject of friends: who you surround yourself with is more important than you know. How your friends are seen, no matter how good or bad, will reflect on you and the kind of person you are. I promise you teachers know more than you think and word travels fast among students as well. I’m in no way saying to drop one of your closest friends because they screw up and do something they shouldn’t have. What I am saying is to just be careful about who you surround yourself with and how you let them impact your life. It’s best to be friends with the kids who are on a good straight path in life rather than the kid who your mom is going to have to eventually tell you can’t hang out with anymore.
4. Dating and relationships should not be your first priority! Don’t focus all of your time and energy on one person and lose your friends and your grades in the process. The sad but real truth is that only five percent of high school relationships survive transitioning to college and less than two percent of high school couples end up getting married. Don’t fully immerse yourself in one person; it’s not how someone should live their life. Now by saying all of that I’m not saying that you should avoid relationships all together. You’re young, it’s your chance to explore what you like and want in a partner. It’s ok to date but remember that romantic relationships come and go, but friends and your academic readiness will define your path for the future.
5. With all of that being said about relationships: if you and a guy/girl break up don’t go around making it your mission to make them look bad, get with all of their friends, or rush right into another relationship. All you are doing is making yourself look foolish and ruining your reputation with not only your classmates but your teachers. Listen, people talk. If you do something and another person finds out you best believe that all of their friends will know it too. Save yourself the time and energy and just move on. I know, from experience, that if you take time away from an ex-partner, you will have the ability to be friends again. It takes time and it can take a toll on your mental health, depending on how it ended, but you will eventually move on and you will be a better version of yourself. Break ups happen for a reason, whether it’s a disagreement or other circumstances, and it’s best to take time for yourself, surround yourself with the love of your friends and family, and wait (FOR A WHILE) till someone who is good for you appears.
6. You’ve definitely heard this one a lot but do NOT walk slowly in the hallways. It is a major pet peeve of most everyone else, and you and I both know it’s the first way to upset any upperclassmen. You have four and a half minutes to get to each class, which may seem like plenty of time to mosey around and talk to all of your friends, but it goes by in the blink of an eye. Get to class on time; you have no excuse not to, and walk at a steady pace while you do. To add on, do NOT push people out of the way if you’re in a rush. All that does is put you and the other person in a worse mood then you were both probably already in. Keep to yourself, walk fast, and get to class! It’s that simple.
7. YOU DO YOU! Do not feel like you have to hide your personality and your style because you think someone will disapprove of it or they won’t see it the way you envision it. It is OK to stand out. Be proud of who you are, and don’t hide that behind a mask for someone you will never see after high school. High school is a blip in your life as a whole, so you cannot spend it focusing on what someone said about your outfit, your makeup, or your personality one day. Remember no one’s really judging you, they are just worried about themselves. Be unique, love yourself, and stand out from the crowd!
8. I know you’ve already started the year and are set in the classes you have, but do NOT pick the classes you are going to take based on what your friends are doing. In the end you will only regret that you didn’t get the credits you needed. Get done what you need to get done, and enjoy those off periods your junior and senior year. Also remember this when it comes to sports. Don’t join a sports team just because your friends are all a part of it. You will be miserable and you will have wasted a class period for no reason. Not just that, but if you don’t add to the team’s success in any way, you will only ruin it for everyone else.
9. Smile and/or talk to someone who seems like they are genuinely having a bad day. You never know what kind of impact that can have on a person. You have no idea what someone is going through, and sometimes just a wave in their direction can make them feel more seen than they have in a while. I know everyone has felt left out or like they aren’t seen by a group of people and we’ve all had that one person who noticed us and was our friend when we really needed one. So do your best to be that person for someone. Be a light in someone’s life, because it may mean more to them than you could ever imagine.
10. Be good to your teachers and principals. You will NEED them in the future when it comes to recommendations for organizations, scholarships, and college applications. Not only that, they are people and they have families that they have to go home and take care of after dealing with you all day. I bet you money they are just as tired and stressed as you are. Respect your teachers and do your best to just behave. You don’t have to like every teacher you have, I don’t think anyone ever has, but you at least have to show them the kindness and tenderness they deserve. Trust me, it makes it easier for everyone if you do what you’re told and stay on their good sides. Believe me I would know, my mom is a teacher.
Your high school years are some of the most exciting years of your life, but they are also ones where some of your peers will make decisions that they will regret. The choices you make now can have a huge impact on your future, so make smart decisions, keep your grades in check, enjoy high school before it’s over.
