Dear Freshmen,

You’ve made it through your first week, congrats! You have 43 left to go (good luck)! Throughout your next three years of high school, you’ll learn things you wish you knew as a freshman. So instead of your struggling to figure those things out, here are some things I believe are vital for you to know in order to have an amazing high school experience.

Get involved. There are so many different clubs, sports, and activities going on around the school that will make a difference in your lives. If you want to go some place after school to chill out or talk with friends, hit up CROYA. Or better yet, go to their Wednesday night meetings from 7-8 PM. Bring your friends, meet up with some there, or make some along the way- that’s what CROYA is all about. Join theater if that’s what you love, even if your friends don’t. You don’t need to do everything with your friends; you’ll make new ones (I promise)!

Join sports teams. Whether you’re playing the sport because you’ve played since third grade or you thought you might give it a shot, JOIN! There are friendships that last forever from joining a team, and it may even be with a person you didn’t know beforehand. If the tryout date already passed but you really want to play the sport, just email the coach and ask about joining the team (it’s worth a shot… and freshmen teams typically don’t cut!)

Form friendships. Not only with kids in your classes, or the older kids in the hallway, but with your teachers (they don’t bite). Having a friendship with a teacher means you have someone to rant to about homework in other classes, or someone to write you college recommendations further down the line, or just a class you can be a little bit more of yourself in. Teachers want to help you, even if the amount of homework you are getting seems otherwise.

Breathe. Take time for yourself, school is stressful! Don’t overbook yourself– if you don’t really want to go out on a Friday or Saturday, you don’t have to! No one will judge you if you’d rather sleep all day instead.

Friends. Yes, they will change, but don’t freak out. Throughout high school everyone and everything is changing, so it is completely normal for you to start one year with one group of friends and end the year in a completely different group. Be open to all of the changes that are to come in the next four years of your life.

Live high school in the now, because it flies by in the blink of an eye, and just remember, high school is only four years of your life. The next thing you know, you’ll be off to college. You won’t remember that time freshman year you got a bad grade or didn’t go out. So have a blast as it lasts!