Have you ever thought ahead to what the next few years of your life may consist of? Whether you are a freshman, senior, or even just enjoying high school, lets take a look at what you have coming your way!

Before even taking one step into high school, freshmen are already dreading their first day. As you stroll the halls as a freshman you, very carefully, take in all of your surroundings. You can already tell who are senior’s, considering they look like giants compared to you. You walk around, in a daze, dodging every senior, just because you’ve heard they might shove you into their oversized locker. When you left freshman orientation you swore you knew where all of your first semester classes were, but, unfortunately, that was a week ago, and now you no longer remember. Between the upperclassman telling you your class is on the third floor and other people just entirely ignoring your mass of questions, last nights nightmare, is starting to come true. You are highly surprised that your teacher doesn’t scold you for being late when you walk into class, in fact, other confused students pile their way into class after you. As lunch time approaches and your stomach starts to rumble, you recall that you only have a few friends in the same lunch as you. The first day of lunch, for all grades, is quite a stressful time. The table and seat you choose, are the table and seat you stay in all semester long. This does become a hard decision; no one wants to be stuck on the dreaded end seat all semester long. Of course the first week or two of freshman year can be a bit hard to adapt to, but as long as you are open for change, you can make your freshman year, a year to remember.

As a sophomore, you now realize that what you expected of your freshman year, isn’t exactly how it turned out. You learned that the seniors don’t actually shove you into their lockers; in fact, they choose to ignore you and your immature jokes. Sophomores tend to feel like they’re just the middle guy, no longer a freshman, but still an underclassman. Although this is technically true, sophomore year is a very important step in your life. This year of yours will most likely consist of classes that are going to help you as a junior and senior. Have you ever heard of Geometry, that tricky math class that everyone complains about, well this is the year you get to tackle that challenging course. If you are looking to take the SAT’s, which is required for college, this is the year you will probably take the Practice SAT’s, also known as the PSATs. For these tests you are gathered into a hot cafeteria, on an early Saturday morning and sit there for four long hours filling in the answers to questions you have never even been introduced to yet. In all honesty, your sophomore year will be the least stressful year of high school. I encourage all you sophomores to enjoy this exciting year, and never forget it!

If this is your junior year, be ready to work hard and get serious. Growth is a big priority this year. Not only will you be starting your college search, but you will also grow as an individual. You are no longer seen as an underclassman, therefore you should feel the drive to begin to mature. Your junior year is basically designed to introduce you to your senior year. Although you may not choose the exact college you are going to attend, you will still explore all of your options. Since you most likely have already taken the PSATs, it’s now that time to tackle the SAT. It’s normal to feel nervous when you take the SAT for the first time; all you can do is try your best. Your junior year is known to be the most challenging of them all, but as long as you put in the time and effort, everything will turn out to be just fine. You’re still a kid, enjoy this year of high school just as much as you would any other year; but remember to be serious when you have to be.

All seniors, guess what, you’ve made it! Do you feel any different than you did last year? On the first day of senior year you would expect to feel superior, the top dog, or at least a little different, but you don’t. In fact, you feel almost the same as you did last year. You may start to feel a slight change when you finally commit to the college of your dreams or maybe when you find your first college roommate. All of these circumstances are possible, but in my opinion you will not notice a difference until you’re walking down the aisle, diploma in hand. As you’re walking through the highly familiar halls, you feel as if you could find your classes with your eyes closed. Although it may seem cruel, you love to watch the undersized freshman roam the halls in confusion. As you intently watch them wander around, you don’t recall ever being as small as them. You may be familiar with the fictional disease called ‘senioritis’. Senioritis is a crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. If you find yourself being extra lazy or wearing unbelievably comfy clothes, more than normal, you have probably caught the disease. If you feel as if you can stop trying in school once your mid year grades are sent to your college, you’re wrong. Believe it or not, if you do poorly in a class, colleges can eliminate you from their acceptance list. Do you remember thinking to yourself how certain school years go by so fast? Imagine that pace, only times ten faster; senior year is your last year to enjoy life without having a lot of responsibilities. Whether you feel like one or not, you’re a senior, and this is your last year of high school, why not make it the best year of your life!

High school is said to be the time in your life when you have the most fun. We all should be enjoying these small details of our life, so when we are all grown up we can remember a time that seems so distant. I will not sit here and say everything in high school will be a blast, we all have our struggles, but as long as you allow the positives to outweigh the seldom negatives, high school will be an unbelievable memory to cherish.