I have a lot of advice for future students as a senior in high school. High School is so important and you don’t realize it until it’s too late. My biggest advice to future high schoolers and/or seniors in general is to do your best in school, participate, and soak it in as much as possible. High school goes by in the blink of an eye and you will wish you could be back as a freshman on your first day of high school. It matters more than you think when it comes time. Your grades matter, your attendance matters, and your behavior matters. Do your homework, study for your SAT. Push yourself even when things get hard – it will be well worth it.

I struggled a lot throughout high school and wanted to give up so many times. My first year we were online for months doing classes via Google Meets. That was pretty hard for my class. I never really liked doing my homework but it is so important to do it; now as a senior noticing I could have done better, is an unexplainable feeling. From the day I turned 16, I have had a job since my freshman year of high school.

One thing, I think a student should always remember is work ethic is everything inside and outside of school but your school work should always come before your job and that is something I had a hard time maintaining to balance. You need to balance your school life with everything around you but also make time to participate in extracurricular activities and have time to do your work.

As a senior, I would do anything to go back to being a freshman and soak high school in a bit more. People always told me when I was younger that high school would go by in the blink of an eye. I never believed anyone when they told me that. I dreaded it honestly. 4 more years seemed like forever to me. It would be a dream to go back and take it more seriously knowing that it really does go by much faster than you think.

Join the clubs, go to the games, make all kinds of different friends, join choir, and band, go to homecoming and prom, and make the best out of your high school years because you will always remember these years. My whole high school I always said “I can’t wait for this to be over.” “I can’t wait to graduate.” now that I am less than 3 months away from graduating I realize there is so much more I could have done differently.

You can’t dwell on how you should have done things differently forever. This is why I am writing this, listen to me as a senior when I tell you to slow down, take a breath, and just realize these are the times you need to lock in most. You should always branch out and talk to people you may have never thought you would talk to. Those are the best kinds of people. Join the clubs and classes that are out of your comfort zone. I joined the choir in my sophomore year of high school. Choir was completely out of my comfort zone but I wouldn’t change anything about joining. I was never very confident in how I sang or was able to do it in front of others. I guess my motive for this is to take those scary moments and turn them into something great. I can say confidently that I am so glad I got to experience everything that goes on in Mr. Colonel’s. He is one of the most patient, compassionate, and dedicated people I have ever met. There are some things I would never want to change that I did in school and joining choir was one of them.

The teachers here at Chester High School will push you to your best ability. They are understanding and amazing at what they do. I hope that any upcoming students or active students have a teacher they can confide in. Any of the teachers here will hear you out and do anything to help. You should never be afraid to start a bond or get close to your teachers. They will always have your back. Our teachers and staff work so hard to make our school a good place, never take it for granted. I have covered many topics in my advice to the underclassmen. I mean everything I say.

We never want to listen to the adults when we are younger when they say take it seriously, that school is important. I don’t blame anyone because I did not listen either. I didn’t get the chance to listen to someone about taking high school more seriously so when you read this I hope you take at least one piece of advice from me. I hope you have a wonderful time in high school!