Going into high school is one of the most nerve-wracking transitions, from finding out your best friend's schedule to figuring out where to go and sit during lunch. Being surrounded by strangers who do not even look twice at the incoming kids can make a person feel like they will never survive the next four years. Although no one can fully prepare you, there are a few pointers that could make high school an easier change.
Freshman year, you will hear about how this experience is going to fly by. When thinking about it, it is hard to understand what people mean. How can four years of school fly by? Do they understand how boring every class is? Just trust them. Most of them had the same thoughts going into high school. Do not be fooled by how slow the first year goes; you never truly understand how much time has passed until you reach your senior year, where it is a last for everything that you will get used to. Try to attend every possible school event you can because the next thing you know, you will be on college visits and planning graduation.
Being active in anything at school is one of the best choices you can make. It also helps you to meet new friends who have the same interests as yourself. Those activities and friends make high school worth it. Most schools provide multiple ways to be active. There are usually more than enough sports or clubs to find where you fit in. These clubs and sports not only keep you participating in school, but they also teach you valuable people and life skills.
Make new friends because one of the most depressing parts of high school is how your clump of so called "best" friends become awkward acquaintances throughout the years. Going into a new atmosphere with a group of best friends is a helpful way for you to get used to the ninth grade, but soon enough their friendship will just a part of your past. Both of you will find your own interests and cliques that sooner or later make you drift apart. It starts with no more Friday nights spent at their house staying up and gossiping. Eventually, the friendship turns into a text every so often, filled with an empty promise that the two of you getting together again soon. This separation does not happen to every friend, but most people go through it. It is not even because there was a fight and now you hate each other. You just grow apart. Next thing you know, you will have a new group of people to spend your time with and middle school friends will be a memory.
With the next four years ahead, you will go through more than you know—from relationships that will make or break you to parties that you will contemplate on attending. Even though a person could go on forever about what high school contains, figuring it all out is half the experience. The most important piece of advice you could know is to just try and enjoy it all. There will be difficult times from broken relationships to the massive amounts of homework due the next day. On a positive note, though, with every difficult time, there are five times more exciting and memorable moments. Try to enjoy your whole time in high school because it is some of the best years.
