Congratulations on making it through your freshman year. There is quite a difference between middle and high school. Hopefully your first year at FHS was not too stressful or easy. It is important that you maintain a balance so that you can still be successful without cracking under the pressure. Though many do not put their school work first, you should. As long as you stay organized and focused, you will still have plenty of free time for fun.
It’s easy to say that the grade you are currently in is the most difficult, and I won’t try to convince you otherwise. Every year of school should push you a little bit harder in order to prepare you for whatever you choose to pursue after high school. If you haven’t heard of the term “senioritis” yet, it’s a made up disease seniors have as an excuse to not do work. Some people have an extremely bad case of this disease and get “sophomoritis.” If you’re already procrastinating, I would advise you stop, or it is going to be a long and miserable journey throughout high school. I don’t think I can stress it enough; even if you think you don’t want to go to college for a science degree, don’t avoid taking science classes or doing poorly in them. It’s best to leave your options as open as possible. I’ve changed my mind numerous times about what job I want to pursue after high school, so the best way to ensure you can still accomplish all of the goals you wish to is to do your best at everything you can.
Now that you are adjusted to high school, it’s important that you think about getting involved. Many people always complain about how bored they are, but personally, I’ve never had a day in my high school career where I’ve been bored. Joining clubs and sports is the best ways to make sure you have an enjoyable high school experience.
If you are to take anything away from this article, I want it to be the following three things:
1) Start thinking about what careers you’re interested in so you know how to tailor your schedule the next two years in order to prepare you for college or the work force. Even though you migh change your mind, if you find something you are passionate about now and look into that career, you’re off to a good start!
2) Make sure you start practicing good study habits for your junior year; not only are classes challenging, but the SAT’s and ACT’s require you to remember math skills taught in a variety of classes as well as punctuation and vocabulary obtained within your English classes.
3) Relax. By the end of this year you will be half way through your high school career. It’s important that you learn as much as you can, but having fun is just as important too.
I wish you all the best as you continue your journey through high school!