Looking back at my four years in high school, they were long.

There were times that I thought I was not going to make it to the successful, relaxing, happy life that I am currently living as a second semester senior.

Here are some tips and tricks to navigating the halls of high school.

First of all, find your people. For a young student, these halls may seem daunting. By finding a group of people you vibe with, high school will be more tolerable. These people may be different from those you surrounded yourself with in past years, but that is OK. High school is all about finding yourself and creating your own identity, and the first step to doing that is to find people who are like you and to shed your skin from middle school.

Second, I suggest you get ready for change. This is something that I struggled with during most of my time here — between classes, friends, school work and everything in between, change is inevitable, so you might as well accept it now. “A lot changed for me coming into high school,” senior Sara Hodes said. “Changing classes each semester was the biggest one for me.”

I am sure you hear this every direction you turn, but your grades matter, so make them count. Not to scare you now, but your grades as an underclassman might come back to haunt you. Your GPA follows you through high school, which is something often forgotten by students. “I am really happy I worked so hard as an underclassman, it really helped me when I was applying to colleges,” senior Hannah Vinner said.

Contrary to what I just said, do not worry about college too early. Take it from someone who has been worried about applications since I was 10, take your time. It is important to do well in your early years, but worrying about where you want to go as a freshman is not needed. “When you get to senior year, so many of the little things from freshman year seem small,” senior Gabe Pollack said. “Focus on your grades because you want to do well, not because you want to get into college.”

Learn how to get help. Find a teacher in a subject that you may struggle with and stick with them for the rest of your time here; it will prove helpful eventually. Teachers are there to help you, not to watch you fail. “I love Mr. Burnham,” Hodes said. “Even when I do not have him I still can get help from him in math.”

High school can be tricky, but it can also be the best four years of your life. Do not rush it, enjoy it while it lasts. Before you know it, as cheesy as it sounds, you will be in your second semester senior year, watching your friends pick schools across the country and begging for high school not to end.

Katie Schreck

Managing Editor