Dear incoming high school freshmen,
First off, congratulations for making it this far. You’re about to enter the most important four years of your life thus far. During these four years, everything you thought you ever knew will be challenged, whether it's academics or outside of school. The person you are now will be a distant memory by the time you’re tossing your graduation cap. It’s time to prepare for high school, and who better to help you than someone who just graduated?
High school is a roller coaster, there’s no denying it. The funny thing is, though, that everything that matters now won’t matter in a few years. That one essay you’ll be up all night writing in ninth-grade will be forgotten and you’ll forget everything you studied for your history final. Everything you learn in high school will go one of two ways. The majority of it will probably go to the vacant spot in your brain, where everything is basically forgotten but you may be able to remember a math formula every once in a while. The other small portion of things you will learn will stay with you, but that most likely won’t be what you learn in the classroom. It’ll be what you learn outside of the classroom, like how you can tell a real friend from someone who is just using you.
Teacher relationships can be tricky. There will be some teachers who you just constantly butt heads with. It may be the longest year ever, but remember you’ll be free of their judgment soon enough. However, I believe that everyone has at least one teacher who will influence your life for the better. For me, that was my choir teacher Peter Lakes. He became one of my best friends during high school. He was and still is the person I can trust with my life. I’ve told him everything and leaving him is what’s making leaving high school so hard. Everyone will have a teacher who is more like a friend or older sibling than a teacher. They’ll be who you’re excited to see when you’re coming home from college.
The people you start high school with will probably not be who you end it with. Don’t be upset about this. It’s normal that friendships change along with you. You will lose friends, but you’ll make new ones. The ones you’re taking pictures with at graduation are the ones you will probably text at 2 a.m. Make memories with them instead of trying to keep an old friendship alive when it’s clear you’ve grown too much to stay together.
You’ll encounter crushes often. Some may blossom into relationships, and some will leave you crying in your room watching "Grey’s Anatomy" and eating ice cream. The important thing to remember is that in four years you won’t see the boy you spent countless nights crying over ever again. High school relationships are exactly that. HIGH SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS. They’re fun to have but don’t get too caught up in relationship drama. It definitely isn’t worth it.
The most important piece of advice I can give you is that high school goes by in the blink of an eye. Before you know it you go from having trouble finding your first-period classroom to shaking your principal's hand and taking your diploma. Spend the next four years doing things you’ll smile about as you reminisce with your best friends. These next four years will be the best and worst of your lives but there's a whole world waiting for you after high school. Don’t rush to it it’ll still be there if you take your time being a kid.
Sincerely,
A High School Graduate of 2016
