It’s crazy to say that Friday was my last first day of high school. Elementary and middle school were thrilling to be done with but high school has come with way more excitement and worries. Overall, High school has come with new major stressors for all of us. I am going to be sharing some advice I have found to conquer high school, especially senior year.

My Three Pieces of Advice 

My first piece of advice would be don’t forget about friends and family. Many of us are preparing for our after high school lives which includes moving out. When some of us are trying to focus on that, we tend to forget the fact that the amount of time we spend with our family now will be shortened. Once you move out, there’s no more seeing your mom when you wake up every morning. Now is a perfect time to strengthen your relationships with the people you care about.

The next piece of advice I have is to take classes to better you. While we have already chosen our classes, it’s not too late to switch. During our high school time, we need to take classes that will help us in our future. For example, if you start taking college classes now, it’s cheaper than taking them at the actual college. These years are a great time to expand our options and find subjects that interest us. 

My last piece of advice would be keeping up your grades. I am someone who truly believes that you should give equal opportunity for our social lives and our school lives. We can’t let our academics completely consume us but we have to focus on our grades. We have to find a way to have them both in our lives. It’s our last few years as teenagers before we become adults. So we need to be able to enjoy our young years while we can. At the same time, high school can determine your future. For example, college. Acceptance into a college is majorly determined by your high school years so focus while you can but also enjoy it. 

Other People’s thoughts

I asked Mr. Negaard for a piece of advice he would give and he told me “Don’t burn your bridges”. I interoperated this so as don’t leave things on bad terms. Instead of leaving off with one of your friends in an argument, patch things up and leave things on good terms. That way if you need them in the future, You can always return. 

I also decided to talk with two seniors at Great Bend High School. These are Dru Penka and Karley Stukey. The first question I asked is what advice do you have for underclassmen. Dru said “respect your upperclassmen, your time will come”. Karley quoted “I would tell underclassmen to not let your friends guide you in a direction of life you don’t feel fits you”. The next thing we talked about was their plans after high school. Dru is going to Barton to dance and hopes to go to K-state after. Her dream occupation would be a pro dancer because little she would have loved it. Karley’s plans are to attend a two year college for business along with getting her real estate license. Her dream occupation is to be a broker. Then, we talked about their biggest worries and something they are excited about. Dru said she didn’t really have a worry, she just knows it will go by fast and she’s not  ready to leave. She’s most excited about being an actual upperclassman who can call seniority. Karleys biggest worry is leaving behind the people that have helped her over the years in may. She is most excited about all the football games along with senior prom and holly ball. Thank you, Karley and Dru. 

Now that you have some of our advice and got to know a couple seniors, I have a question for you. IF you are an upperclassmen, what advice would you give underclassmen or what advice would you have liked to hear? If you are an underclassmen, did this advice help you out?