Below you’ll find guidance from myself and other sophomores who contributed their advice in a survey sent out a few weeks ago. It hasn’t been long since we were freshman, and no one really told us how to do it, so we thought we’d try and help you out.

*Disclaimer* Even if you follow all of this advice, you are not guaranteed to have an amazing freshman year (things happen). Being in ninth grade is inherently sucky; this advice could just make things easier.

My Advice:

• Please stop carrying seven binders with you everywhere—you’re only hurting yourself. Folders can be your best friend.
• Have opinions and stay true to them, but be mindful of others and how your opinions can affect them. If your opinion is offensive or harmful to another person or group of people, do your best to keep it to yourself.
• Do your homework. Build a relationship with your teachers. If you get so overwhelmed that your work is half-[hearted], send your teacher an email and work out a solution. Don’t be scared of teachers; they want to help you.
• The guidance office is amazing… every single person there. Each counselor will do everything in their power to help you and make your days here easier. In addition to the counselors, pay attention to the people there who aren’t counselors; they are also great to talk to.
• Have an organizational system and have a routine. It doesn’t matter what those are as long as they are healthy habits and work for you.

• You are fourteen or fifteen years old– wanting to date is normal, but don’t let your relationships take over your life. Figure out what you like and who you are before you share that with someone.
• You are going to question who you are, and that is perfectly normal. Figure out who in your life you can trust to talk to and it could be several people who you share different parts of your life with.
• In the halls, walk with purpose. Even if you’re not confident, people will think you are.
• Remember to have fun! This is high school, not the hunger games– enjoy yourself!

Advice from some other people (sophomores) who aren’t me (being well rounded is also important):

• Take a risk (without provoking violence, of course…), don’t be afraid to be judged or look like a fool because people will judge you regardless. That won’t change, so just be yourself. Try to find something you are passionate about and stick with it through high school. Colleges like persistence, and you can learn a lot about yourself from the things you like and your passions. Also, do your homework. Just do it.
• Do all of your homework. It may feel like too much or something that you can skip once in a while, but those points help you out if you mess a quiz up, and it’s always nice to have a backup plan.
• USE YOUR PLANNER. Teachers tend to assign things for the future and without a place to write it down and keep track of it, those deadlines are easy to miss. There’s nothing worse than the feeling of coming into class the next day and remembering that you had homework last night.
• Take hard classes, but don’t overwhelm yourself. Many people want to take a lot of hard classes, but it is important to give yourself wiggle room.
• A good friend who at this point has graduated told me to make sure I do not graduate thinking that I could have spent more time with my friends. This has really stuck with me, so to all freshman, don’t stress too much, use your free time, study with friends, go out to eat, make sure you make your time in high school is not only educational but also fun.

• First and foremost, prioritize your responsibilities whether it be classes, clubs or sports. From there on it’s best to be organized, efficient, and actively involved.
• Start studying for tests as soon as you get notified about them. They are usually the biggest part of your semester grades, and it is important that you are prepared to take them. If you don’t understand something while you are studying, make sure you get to the teacher to ask them about it. This will show that you are serious about your success in their class.
• Find what you’re good at and then do something new, but don’t go overboard because you might become overwhelmed. Explore something new to get a sense of what you might want to do in the future.
• If you’re struggling in a class, go to academy as soon as you realize it. If you don’t, you might end up digging a hole for yourself for future units.
• Don’t overwork yourself. Take breaks in between doing your homework.
• Enjoy every moment because they’ll become some of your best memories.
• Freshman year is tough; it’s different and some teachers don’t care if you’re having a bad day. But, you’ll get through it, and you’ll realize that they were there to help you. Overall, I learned not to get involved in the drama, because then you can’t focus on the things that really matter to you.

Congratulations, you’ve reached the end. Before you know it, you’ll reach the end of freshman year as well. Take our advice with a grain of salt and soon you’ll have your own experiences and your own wisdom to share with the upcoming class.