From walking between classes to planning for graduation, I have begun reflecting on what I wish I had known as a freshman and what underclassmen should hear now.
“When school gets overwhelming, I like knowing that this time will pass and I need this to get to where I want to be. If I can get through this, then I can excel in my future,” senior Chyleigh Sheffield said.
For me, it is comforting to know these hardships will pass, and that high school is only a small part of my life. I have also learned that this short time is when real responsibility begins. My perspective shifted the summer before junior year when I started my first dual enrollment classes and realized my grades would massively affect my future. Along with that realization, I began focusing more on improving my work ethic.
“I definitely started feeling more like an adult junior year,” senior student-athlete Jacob Payne, who participates in both track and football, said. “After sophomore year, I wanted to play all the games. Also, since I am bigger now, matches have consequences now. For me personally, when you hit that junior stage, that is when things really got real. That is when you start learning more about adult life, you take classes such as economics, finance and taxes.”
Throughout my freshman year and part of my sophomore year, I was not very focused on my academics, and now I am paying the price. For example, I am working to earn straight A’s to raise my cumulative GPA so I can hopefully dual enroll full-time. Looking back, I realize that if I had taken my grades more seriously as an underclassman, I would not be facing this challenge.
“The more A’s you make, the more your window of opportunity is open. Figure out from your teacher’s syllabus and know the specific rubrics you have to follow to make an A. What you do from ninth grade on is going to matter in terms of getting into college and hitting the top mark. Once your grades start to come down a little bit, that window closes, and now certain opportunities are out of reach. When you are a freshman, everything is right there. If you can keep making A’s, you will have a lot of options,” academic advisor Todd McNeil said.
As graduation approaches, I am realizing the lessons I learned the hard way are the ones I most want underclassmen to hear: the choices made early in high school matter more than they may seem at the time.
