New Year, New Perspective

As you can tell, high school changes everyone in big ways: we mature, our age gets more defined, and the friends you have by the end of high school are the friends you will usually keep forever. Sadly, we are quickly approaching the end of the 2014-2015 school year. Juniors are prepping for their SATs, seniors are getting ready to say goodbye to Lake City and all their classmates, 8th graders are scheduling their first year in high school. With all the change happening, it’s good to know what they have to do to make next year as smooth and comfortable as possible.

I asked seniors what advice they have to help out next year’s seniors and the answers I got were very informative. It would be a good idea for everyone to get their senior photos in the summer before their senior year, as you will want to have good weather. There are many local photography businesses that have senior portrait sessions, such as Rayla Kay Photography and Quicksilver, so be sure to schedule soon so you can get a day you want and schedule around it. Another thing is seniors usually get the deadly case of “Senioritis,” which is when you get so ready to be out of school that your grades begin to drop, so it’s important everyone keeps in check so your grades are still good. Finally, the thing I heard the most was if you can, it was highly suggested you get in to the dual credits program Lake City has.

As for sophomores that are heading into their junior year, this year can be the most stressful year if you don’t mentally and academically prepare yourself. You also don’t want to stress about SATs from the beginning of the year. The school does everything they can to get you prepared for the test about two months before. It is suggested that you take easy elective classes such as Life Sports or YVA (Youth Volunteers in Action), so that you don’t have as much to stress about at home or at school and give yourself time to breathe after a really difficult class. Another idea could be to sign up for dual enrollment so you have less to worry about your senior year.

Now for freshmen that will be sophomores, there are a lot of opinions people have given me about this year. Some people say that it was the most difficult year academically, others disagreed but said it was the hardest socially, it really just depends on who you are and what you do and how you do in school. So it was suggested by many people that you make friends, be aware of how you act, and get involved in as many clubs, sports, and academic activities that you are somewhat interested in so you can find yourself. That’s what high school is all about, finding yourself and making the friends you will have for the rest of your life. But do not sign up for easy classes or be an aid, save those for your junior and senior years.

Was this helpful?

• Yes, very!
• Not really.

View Results

 Loading ...

Finally, for the incoming freshmen, high school is nothing like middle school, but the biggest problem that happens every freshmen class is the maturity levels which you don’t usually notice until sophomore, junior, and senior year, so it’s important to sign up for sports and activities so you can find yourself. Also, be sure to sign up for a foreign language, you will need to have two years of one foreign language in order to increase your likelihood of getting into a four-year university, It’ll be much easier to do it now so that you have less to worry about in your junior and senior years.

For all the grades, my personal advice I have to give is: just breathe, be yourself, don’t slack off, and please don’t make out in the halls.