By: Evyn Firestone
So, you’re a freshman and unsure of what to do now. You made it to high school and you’re thinking “now what”. Whether you are from the middle school that feeds into your high school, or you are brand new to the people you go to school with, I have some advice for you.
The number one tip I can give incoming freshmen is to get involved. Start stacking up clubs, sports, and other extracurricular activities to put on your college application. Having all these activities that you are engaged in not only helps for college but also helps socially. Freshmen are new to high school, the campus, the teachers, and the work, but they might be new to all the people, too. Getting involved in a wide range of things helps you meet different types of people. Even if they don’t end up being your best friend for life, you know who they are and can start a conversation. You won’t feel so alone. Last year I was in this position. I didn’t know anyone and needed to get involved. I ran for SGA. This experience forced me to introduce myself to many people who I probably wouldn’t have talked to otherwise.
Another huge tip I can give freshmen is to stay on top of work. If you get assigned work, do it on time. The work you don’t do piles up fast and is a pain to complete. You should work hard on your assignments too. The effort you put into your work will reflect who you are as a student and will ultimately help you at the end of the year. Prove to your teachers that you want to do well and succeed. High School will teach you time management and even though it seems hard to split your time up, I promise that it is not unachievable. You can still see your friends and study for a test. It is not one or the other. In fact, you can even combine the two and study with your friends.
I am not the only person who has advice for you. I asked students in all different grades a series of questions and they gave the following advice. When I asked Rafaela De Souza, an 11th grader if she had any advice for the new freshman class about North Springs, she said this: “Make sure to take this year seriously because it is going to be your easiest year and to keep going if you feel like giving up.” When I asked her for academic advice she said “Make sure you are constantly asking questions and emailing your teachers and if you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid to ask. With my experience, the teachers here at North Springs are pretty understanding and respectful.”
When I asked Eva Serotta, a 12th grader for her advice about North Springs, she said, “Have fun and to not stress over the little things because it’s all going to work out and if you get involved in as many things possible, you’re going to set yourself up for success.” When asked why people should listen to her advice, Eva said, “I am a member of two sports teams, volleyball, and lacrosse and I have played since freshman year and I’ve definitely met a lot more people, I’ve branched out from my friends and made connections throughout the whole school.”
I asked Angelo Cruz what he thought students struggling to make friends should do and he said, “Get out there. To even speak to the one person sitting alone, speak to the person you think is weird or cool because we’re all the same, we all think the same, we all have our insecurities so it’s better to think that you’re more alike than we are more different.” When asked why students should listen to his advice Cruz responded, “I’d say I’m a pretty likable guy, I mean I try to put a smile on their face no matter if they don’t like me. It’s about trying to get good energy out there because if you breed hate and negativity, you’re only going to get that 10x worse in life and if you breed positivity, it’ll come back half as much, but that’s only because if it’s easy, it’s not worth it.”
I also asked Quinn Cephus, a 10th grader, what advice he would give to students struggling to make friends. He said “Be social you know? People are nice just keep on talking to them and they’ll talk to you too.” When I asked him about the advice, he would give regarding academics he replied, “Just stay on top of it, don’t let it pile up the cause at the end of the year it’s really going to suck to try and catch up on everything.” I asked Quinn why he was giving this specific advice and he said, “Because I wish I would have known some of that so I would have stayed out of trouble.”
It is up to you if you want to leave the advice or take it, but I wish I had known some of these things to get me through the start of my freshman year. Things like keeping up with your work and keeping out of trouble may seem simple come but if you do not put your effort into it, they will slip out of your grasp. Putting yourself out there and being willing to ask for help are two of the most important things I could tell you to do, but they are also the scariest. When you face those fears and accomplish whatever you had set your mind to, you can think back on this advice. This is not just high school advice; it is life advice.
