The Four Quarters of High School

High school it’s only 4 years of your life. Many good and bad things can come out of it. It has its ups and downs, but can create memories and bonds that you will have for the rest of your life. Everyone’s experience of high school is different. We all face different challenges  throughout these four years whether it’s procrastination or that high school drama you’re gonna encounter some bumps in the road. I was an average student. I didn’t excel in school and was not very passionate. My passion was always for the game of football which you would be surprised but they have many similarities. So the best way I can break down high school is through the game of football so here are the four quarters of high school.

The First Quarter which is freshman year your first taste at what high school really is. This is the year where you are just trying to make out what high school is trying to figure out the ins and outs of how things are done. This all can be a lot to take in high school is all so different compared to middle school. It is more intimidating walking around a school with 400 students not knowing where anything is half the time each day just trying to make it through trying to get in a groove. The first quarter of a football game. This is where you game plan and see what the opponent is doing and adapt. It may not always be smooth but this is just where you are trying to get in a groove for the rest of the game. It’s just like freshman year: you don’t know what to expect, you go in there you get your footing and you get in a groove for the next three years you get the foundation for what is to come in the future.

Now onto quarter two; sophomore year it’s nothing new to you. You made it through your freshman year hopefully with not too much hassle just getting a taste of high school and what it’s like. This is a year where not much happens you have just made it through your first year but as things happen you continue to adapt and learn. High school is not smooth. There will always be a bump in the road whether it’s dreading your sophomore speech or that beloved drama. As these things happen you continue to learn more and more what high school truly is. Sophomore year is exactly what the second quarter is. You take away what you learned from the first quarter and you apply it in the second quarter continuing to adapt and game plan against your opponent. Just like high school a football game does not always go as planned but you gotta learn from what is thrown at you. 

Now the third quarter junior year which is a big year. Before you head into the third quarter you need halftime where you get that pep talk to get you ready for what’s ahead of you. This is where guidance starts to really come into play. They start to give you that pep talk for SATs and college preparing you for the next steps. You have completed half of your highschool career, now you’re a big person on the block you are an upperclassman now you are one of the intimidating ones to those little freshmen. This is the year where you start to think about what you have worked up to since elementary school and what you want to do after you graduate. whether you want to go to college or pursue your career right after you finish school, this is the year where things start to get real. Another big thing this year is SATs. This is where you take all the knowledge you have learned throughout the years to try and score as high as you can, those long nights of studying and pounding your brain with SAT prep on Khan Academy or some oh so fun English work this is where that all comes into play. This is what the third quarter is all about conditioning the games starting to wear you down. You have been grinding, but you take all the knowledge and game planing and conditioning you have done and put your nose to the grindstone. Which is Junior year it’s a grind. Now this is where things can start to slow down going into senior year especially if you catch this nasty thing called senioritis. 

This is what you have been building up to the fourth quarter you are on the final stretch to the finish line. This year is the big year, everything you have been working toward you have some big decisions to make this year. This is where you decide what path you wanna take after high school. Maybe you are applying to colleges or are just over school and want to get a job in the real world. Senior year can drag on and you can fall behind because you are almost there but it’s hitting you with no motivation and you are so close but so far at the same time. But this is where you can choose to finish strong and get your stuff together. This is what the fourth quarter is all about: taking all you got left and finishing with all you got. This is the quarter that can make or break everything you can either come out on top or not. This is the one aspect of the game that does not fit because you know why you can choose your path and whether you want to come out on top or not. That’s all up to how much effort you want to put in to get where you wanna go that’s up to no one but you . 

At the end of it all you can choose how you want your high school experience to unfold. It will not always be a smooth path but you can take the best out of it and just make the best of the time you have. You just gotta choose your circle wisely. This is your team. You need a team that sticks by your side through thick and thin. Also make sure to always listen to your teachers and guidance counselors. They are your coaches even though you may not like what they are saying all the time. They want what’s best for you. They will set you up for success. Adversity it’s everywhere in highschool whether it’s in school or on the sports field you’re gonna run into it so it’s how you handle the adversity that defines you. You have 2 choices: you can either give up and stop trying or you can take it head on and keep trying till you succeed. I can’t decide that for you that’s up to you. One final piece of advice: don’t take it for granted things don’t always end how they are supposed too.

Photo by joeduty on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA