Do I really have to do this?

The best four years of my life they say, it’ll be full of fun and adventures they say, it goes by in the blink of an eye they say, time management is one of the most important things they say. Well, I didn’t believe all of these things until I actually experience it. Going through each day, each week, each month, each year of high school, it felt like it was never going to end. Now, here I am, and it is all over. Looking back it feels like just yesterday I was a little freshman walking into those doors for the first time, about to start a whole roller coaster

of events that I didn’t know about yet. Even though it feels like it went by in two seconds, it is unbelievable to me how much we have all been through and how many things have happened and changed in these four years. That being said, I have thought about what really are the most important things to know for high school. To the incoming freshman, here are the top ten things you cannot forget throughout the next four years.

Number one, do your membean! There is no worse feeling than it being the end of the semester, finally feeling like you have passed in all of your assignments, and then realizing….. You have 300 minutes less than you are supposed to, and, a good percentage of those are dubious. Really, 15 minutes a day isn’t that hard.

Number two, ALWAYS pack your own lunch from home. School food is a definite no, and you have no idea what is in that mysterious meat that is on your plate. Plus, another bonus of bringing your own lunch is you get to have that mid morning snack when you’re really trying to get through the day and it is only period 2.

Number three, make friends with everyone. You don’t know what is going to change and happen over the years and it is better to have a wide variety of who you can go to and talk to rather than being stuck with nobody. You want to make sure you are known for being friendly, because in the long run you are with these people 7 hours a day, make the most of it and be nice.

Number four, you are never “too cool” for spirit week. Go hard in all of the dress up days, be the main character in the movie trailers, participate in the dance, play the games, take advantage of every single activity that goes on because trust me, you look more stupid not participating than you would with your entire body covered in blue paint.

Number five, make sure you are good at parking, and if you aren’t take that extra 5 seconds to adjust yourself because nothing is more annoying than having to park in the back corner because someone took up two spots in the very first section.

Number six, turn everyday into a good day. No matter how much you complain or what you do, you still have to come to school 5 days a week and do all of the work that is assigned, so it really isn’t worth it to make everything negative.

Number seven, it is okay to skip school here and there, but don’t do it too much. Sometimes you need a girls day to enjoy yourself and have fun and not do school, because yes sometimes we really just aren’t feeling it. Or, when it becomes the end of the semester you might need to skip a day to do homework all day because you just don’t have enough time anywhere else and it is crunch time.

Number eight. Attend everything. Go to all of the sports games and cheer on your peers, go to prom, every school dance, every play, every event the school has. Because you only have a limited amount, and when it is all over you will never get those chances again to do that and bond with your classmates.

Number nine. Do your capstone on time, start it early, and follow the timeline. You might think it is a lot when you first see everything that is assigned, but once you actually sit down and do it, it is pretty self explanatory.

Number ten. Spend as much time with your family and friends as possible. Those are the people that are going to be by your side through everything that happens, and they will be the ones that will get you to this point I am at right now,graduating high school and moving onto bigger things. Before you know it, it will be move in day for college, and you are leaving all you have ever known, and you won’t be able to drive 2 minutes down the road to your friends house whenever you feel like it anymore, you won’t be able to come home to a home cooked meal from your parents every night, all of those things will be gone for a while, so appreciate it while it is still here. And that is the most important one out of them all.

High School was a crazy ride. I learned more about myself in these four years than I did in the 14 years of life I had prior to coming here. I think that it was fun, I experienced a lot, learned a lot, but everyone was right. It really does fly by in the blink of an eye. It is okay to mess up, it is okay to go through some struggles, but now is where you set yourself up for who you want to be, and the type of person you are. Make the most of it.

Alan Light 2012