As you get through this new year, you might be wondering about some things. How should I study, what clubs should I do, should I join a sports team, should I quit it? As a senior I want to give advice based on my experiences and what I’ve heard from others. 

​

First, the biggest part of school, your classes. For freshmen, this can be a change of pace. Now sure, your grades aren’t super important yet. But these classes are setting you up for harder classes. Do your homework while it’s still lowkey easy to get in the habit. You might not know how to actually study. Look, almost every teacher will give you a study guide for your tests. Now of course, you should do them. But a little cheat code that can be risky, just do half of it and copy off the rest. If you know about the water cycle, or slope intercept, or the french revolution, then don’t spend forever doing a study guide. Make sure you actually know how to do it, or else your grade will expose you. 

​

Sophomore year is when you should actually start figuring stuff out. Make sure you’re doing your homework on time and actually doing the study guides, even if they’re not collected. Maybe you’re taking AP classes, you poor thing. I took AP Bio and AP Gov. I got a 5 on AP Gov. That came mostly from finding politics interesting and practicing my writing response a lot. If you don’t care about politics or government, don’t take the class. Now I did get a 3 on AP Bio so I’m probably not the best source there. Don’t go into tests blind, which also applies to any other class. What did help was asking the teacher questions, especially on tests. Always do that if you’re confused. I’ve heard that AP European History doesn't seem great. That doesn’t mean you’re cooked though, just watch Heimler’s History. 

​

Junior year, you’ll probably be a little cooked. This is the year of taking multiple hard classes and being confused in at least one, if not all of them. Just remember, all things must pass. For actual advice, don’t let procrastination take over. Find whatever works, I like writing out to do lists and setting timers. Bribery could also work. Also just pay attention in Junior Planning. I’m not trying to be a shill for the guidance department but you’re literally getting dedicated time to research your future, which is important. If you don’t you’ll either have to work over the summer, or do a lot of work in the fall. Don’t let these classes take over your life, go hang out with your friends. And to everyone GO TO BED EARLIER. You might think you can stay up later to study for a quiz. That doesn’t work, you won’t do better, you’ll just be sleepy. Personally I think I’m winding down, but I’m only so tired at the end of the day because I went to bed late. Also start studying for the SAT in like January or February, and learn how to use Desmos. 

​

Then there’s the other part of school, extracurriculars. Freshman and sophomores, just drop a club if it’s boring. I did that, it’s been great. Sure you might worry about your application, but it’s not that useful to stuff it with things you don’t care about. Plus it’ll just wear you out if you have to attend a bunch of meetings each week and do a lot of work outside of school. Don’t be afraid to join clubs though, there’s no harm in trying it out, even when you’re not a freshman. Juniors, if your friends are pressuring you to join their random club that they run, you can say no it’s not that deep. Unless you’re my friend, then you should totally join the Book Club. It can also be fun to hang out with them, and you’ll make them happy, your call. It’s arguably worse if you show up a bunch then just stop. 

There’s also sports. I’m not that athletic, I play golf. What I do know is that it can be draining to stay in a bad program. If you don’t like a coach and you see all your friends are quitting, it’s probably not in your head. Sports are a big time commitment, don’t waste your time being miserable. Also feel free to try out a new sport. You can find a really fun program and learn something new. 

​

Life is all about balance. Don’t overload yourself with school, but also don’t be super busy with extracurriculars. And don’t worry, this is your year, you got this!