I remember walking into Wilde Lake on the first day of my freshmen year, I thought I knew everything. I didn’t. Looking back, I’m surprised at how much I didn’t know. I’m writing this to give a little help to whoever might need it.

Dreading it doesn’t make it better. Waking up at five or six in the morning to get ready for school wasn’t fun as a freshman and it still isn’t as a senior. Although, I wish I had realized that dreading going to school while I peel off my warm blankets just made things worse. Having a positive attitude before you go to school makes the day much better.

Set a goal. This goes hand in hand with your attitude. With a goal, your attitude goes up and you get stuff done. If don’t have a goal, what’s the point of showing up? If you’re just going day to day showing up at school just to get counted as present and do the work, you’ll get bored. Very bored. Having a goal motivates you to show up and do the best you can.

Take chances. Do something outside of your comfort zone. Don’t let the fear of embarrassment stop you! In a few years, no one will remember the time you trip walking down the bleachers to dance during the halftime show of the homecoming game. Heck, they probably won’t remember it after a few weeks.

Cherish being an “underclassmen”. I wish I’d known was that being an upperclassman isn’t as spectacular as I thought. Don’t get me wrong, being a senior is pretty cool, but looking back, some of the most fun I had in high school was in my freshman and sophomore years. Don’t shrug off what’s happening as an underclassmen, you’ll regret it once you’re about to leave high school all together.

Don’t let the past keep you from experiencing the present. I wish I had known when I was fourteen was that life keeps going. Issues come up all the time, and we do our best to make things right but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Some people dwell on those issues for a long time and create an unnecessary stress on themselves. You gotta keep moving forward!