10 Things I Would Tell my Freshman Self

High school, the best four years of your life. Friday night lights, sweaty homecoming, standing on Mainstreet in the morning, losing your voice at football games. I only have one more year left of it, there is nothing I wouldn’t give to get more time. This year is my senior year and the song Five More Minutes by Scotty McCreery has never felt more real. All I can do is pray we have an in-person school year. I remember climbing on to the bus the first day of freshman year with one of my best friends Jordan. We were terrified, to say the least, and wow I wish I knew how amazing high school would be. Here’s what I wish I could tell my freshman self.

1. Get involved, this is what I tell every single underclassman that asks me about highschool. As cliche, as it sounds high school truly, is what you make of it. Freshman year I signed up for a club that all my friends signed up for and I hated it! Easy to say sophomore year I did not sign up for it again, instead I joined Class Council and Student Government and I loved helping make decisions and plan things. It made me feel like a bigger part of Linganore. Junior year I decided I was going to put my love for fashion into good use and here we are! In the end, there are so many options and you are bound to find something you love. If not do what I did and start your own club.

2. Upperclassmen are not out to get you, I promise. Think of highschool as a highway and stay in your lane. Don’t get into unnecessary drama and be a nice person, it’s that simple! I know tons of upperclassmen that have underclassmen friends! It’s more common than you think!

3. Take care of your mental health. Sometimes all you need is a pint of ice cream and a blanket, as much as education is so important you can’t do your best if your mind is running at 50 miles per second it’s not realistic. The best way I have learned to keep me sane during the crazy busy weeks at school is a planner, not everyone loves them but between my planner and making to-do lists it has helped me stay organized and have fewer days where I feel totally overwhelmed and stressed.

4. Time management is more important than you think, if you have ever wondered why your friend is always so busy but has such good grades it really is all about time management. Utilize prep time aka “free period”! During prep, you can find me in Ms. Troxel’s room surrounded by stuff, my laptop, to-do lists, my lunch, all of it. I use prep to eat my lunch talk about Fashion Club updates with Ms. Troxel and catch up on homework. During lunch, I either sat in the cafeteria with my friends or if I had a ton to do I would utilize the library! I wouldn’t recommend spending lunch in the library every day because you do miss out on time to socialize. But, if you are super busy with extracurriculars or classes like I am it is definitely a nice quiet place to get work done.

5. It is okay to not fit in everyone else’s mold, everyone is different and as much as it is okay to follow the trends it is also okay to make your own. If everyone in the world was the same how boring would it be! High school is the time to reinvent yourself if you please. You are no longer in middle school and you are just a few years away from being an adult. This is the time you find yourself, try something new, laugh, wear heels to school, cut your hair! No matter how simple or extreme you go it is the time to find out who you want to be as a person.

6. Be the reason someone smiles, my dad has been telling me this as long as I can remember and it is something that will forever stick with me. Be the person who sits with the new kid or makes conversation with the teachers, it makes you more memorable as a person. It makes someone feel so good if you smile, say hello, or complement their outfit. It really can make someone’s day!

7. Don’t be hard on yourself, everyone is going to fail a test, be cut from a team, or do something embarrassing but you're not alone, it’s not the failure but how you recover from it. In 10 years you are not going to remember highschool by the test you failed or the time you tripped up the steps or accidentally called a teacher the wrong name. Life is going to be tough, it is only going to get harder after high school so really make the most of it and don’t be hard on yourself.

8. Take advantage of your resources, teachers, counselors, and tutors are at your fingertips you just need to ask. There were many times in Spanish where I struggled and needed help from my teacher or peer tutors. As embarrassed as I was they were so accommodating and willing to help. I have had teachers that I have stayed after school for help and ended up crying about how stressed I was and they comforted me or came in at 6 am for morning math tutoring because I wasn’t understanding the content. Linganore is home to some of the most amazing teachers and staff who will do anything for their students!

9. Take tons of pictures! These are the moments you are going to tell your kids about and the moments you wish you could go back to. This is definitely something I could be better about! Sometimes I’m good at it and sometimes I kick myself for not capturing the moment. You want to be able to say hey kids look here is me and my high school best friend at a football game or me and my date dancing like crazy people at prom!

10. Never underestimate a good outfit! Believe it or not, I used to bum it to school 85% of the time now I rarely dress down. A cute outfit is the easiest confidence boost. It makes you feel prepared and ready to take on the day. Plus who doesn’t love walking down the hall and getting compliments from people you barely know!

In the end, this is the youngest you are ever going to be. You only get four years of high school so make sure you cherish every moment. These are the moments you’re going to look back at and wish you could go back soak it in and welcome to high school, go lancers!

Author: Carolina Heister

Date: July 23, 2020