Not only is this a new school year, but I am finally a freshman in high school. Crazy right? It felt as though only yesterday I was just starting sixth grade at Howitt. I have so many questions and worries racing through my mind. Like what if I don’t know where my classes are? Who do I ask? Are the teachers more strict and is the homework a lot more difficult? What will I wear on the first day of school? Should I wear makeup in school or just forget about it and go all natural? I have plenty of more questions, but obviously I can’t write them all down; that would take way too long. Oh and have you seen the size of this school?! It’s huge… well at least compared to Howitt! When I walked into the school for the first time I was so surprised by the size of it. But, I guess it makes sense since you know it does hold about 2,000 students in it.

My biggest fear of high school would most likely be failing my classes. I am one of those students who just can’t handle failing a test, a class, anything. I get very anxious about my grades and I tend to get very anxious if my grades are lower than an eighty. I also play a lot of different sports during the school year, so most of the time I either don’t have enough time to study or complete my homework. Should I tell my teacher why I couldn’t do my homework? Or would he/she just think it’s some lame excuse to get out of a zero?

I am in between being excited and being almost terrified of high school. Excited because I have a clean slate to start over. I can make new friends, join new sports, such as the cheer team or even possibly football. There are so many more reasons why I can not wait to be a freshman in high school. I am also kind of terrified of starting high school because I heard a few sophomores talking about how most of the teachers give a lot of tests and quizzes throughout the year. I am not a great test taker. I can study for hours, but once that test is put in front of me it’s almost as though my brain goes blank. I forget everything I was taught and I end up getting a lower grade than I should have. I also heard from a few students that high school can either be the best four years of school or the four worst years. I am really hoping that these next fours years of high school are going to be worth it.

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It has been two years since I was a freshman, since I had all of these questions and thoughts. I have definitely learned a lot since freshman year. Even though I am a junior this year, I am still in the process of learning new things about the high school, such as where certain rooms are, or that extracurricular activities look great on college applications. You shouldn’t just get excellent grades in your classes, but you should also join a few clubs after school. Most colleges tend to look for students who use their extra time to help their community in some way. A few clubs that look great on college applications are National Honor Society, the Key Club, and the Wellness Committee. I would suggest starting early, by that I mean making friends freshman year, start thinking about what you are going to do after high school, start joining some sports and clubs. I say this because honestly those four years go by so quickly. One second you’re a freshman, then next thing you know you are ending your senior year of high school.