How does GPA work?

My freshman year GPA first semester was a 3.8, and I think it might slip to a 3.7 second semester… (which is currently this semester). How will it be involved in my overall high school GPA? I’ve talked to my counselor before and she has stated that freshman year GPA doesn’t matter. Online, grades wise, there is a box that says “(W) Academic GPA” “(W) Total GPA” and “(W) 10-12 GPA”. Does freshman year play an importance rank wise? Also, college wise?

I would guess the online boxes are cumalitive; however, you can easily figure it out yourself by what the boxes actually say.
Rank wise depends on your school.
College wise, it depends on the school. UCs, for example, freshman grades are disregarded. Most schools use all four years, though.