Naydelin Guzman, Editor for The Science Star and Graduating Senior

Dear Incoming Freshmen,

There are a lot of things you need to know. Lucky for you, I have a lot of experience in high school since I am graduating soon. Two pieces of advice I would give to you: get to know your teachers and maintain a high GPA. It’s beneficial because you get to know your teachers and build a bond with them. That way you can ask them for a letter of recommendation when applying to college. A lot of colleges require this and it looks good in your college application. The second piece of advice is to maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA. The higher your GPA is, the more scholarships and grants you’ll qualify for. Also, it’s a little easier to get accepted into college with 3.0 GPA vs a 2.0 GPA. To add on, to be successful in high school, you need to have some organizational skills. Being organized will help you stay on track with your schoolwork which will make your life less stressful. But also you need to know your limits. You can’t do it all in one day. There needs to be time to space out your projects. So you can get them done effectively and efficiently.

Next, high school is different from elementary school because, in high school, you have more responsibilities. To deal with these new responsibilities, make sure to ask teachers and counselors for help, build your high school resume, and balance your schoolwork with your home life. In high school, teachers will try to treat you like a college student. They are trying to prepare you for college or trade school. Nobody on the outside world is going to hold your hand and tell you what to do. The teachers are trying to make you independent and for you to be able to self-advocate for yourself. Now the difficulty of your homework will depend on what subject you’re taking and at what level. The amount of homework you’ll get in high school is like a wave. Some days you will be able to finish early and some days you won’t get into bed until one in the morning (j/k…or am I?). It all depends on how you manage your time and your after school activities.

Furthermore, when it comes to discipline in high school, you should think before you do anything. At the time, you might think it’s going to be worth it, but every action has a reaction. Depending on what you did, the consequences can be more severe than others.  It will also affect you when you try to get into college which will make the process more strenuous than it needs to be. The most important lesson I learned outside of class was to focus on myself. You’re going to meet a lot of people in high school. Some of them will stick while others won’t. You need to be able to succeed in life without being dragged down by unnecessary people and unnecessary actions.

Sincerely,

A graduating senior