The start of freshman year might be the scariest experience in many of our lives so far, but a good start to a high school career is vital to future high school success. The grades we get our freshman year will start counting towards our grade point averages, and colleges will be looking at this. It is our job to figure out how we manage our time and get our work done. Teachers don’t remind us about doing homework anymore, they are expecting us to be responsible for our own work. For me, this means asking more questions and checking on my grades a lot.

   In high school, there are also a lot of new extracurricular activities that are available to us. There are so many new clubs and sports, and it is our job to find a way to balance these activities with our classes in a way that works for us. Many freshman make the mistake of not being involved in any clubs or sports, but being involved is what will make the year fun. As a freshman, it is important to explore different areas of interest and find a place to connect with other students who share that interest. Extracurriculars are also looked at by colleges so it’s a good idea for freshmen to get involved as long as we can keep a balance between academics and fun stuff.

  The social aspects of high school are also very different from what we are used to.  There is less of a line between ages; in middle school it seemed like we were mostly just friends with people from our grade, but in high school it is easier to be friends with upperclassmen. This means that there are older influences on us and we have to decide for ourselves who we should and shouldn’t be around and also what examples we should not follow. Drama that happens is also a lot different. It can be a lot more serious and real than the drama we’ve had to deal with before. I know that I just try to avoid as much of it as possible because drama is just more added stress. Learning to deal with stress is also very important because just ignoring it won’t help us at all.

  Although the start is scary, freshman year can also be fun if you let it. This is our chance to change. It’s a clean slate from all of our past years and how it goes depends on how we want it to. I think that many people will agree that even though it is difficult, freshman year is an important stepping stone to the rest of our lives.