"What I wish I did in high school..."

yankee814
Sat, 01 Jan 2011 23:10:00 +0000

rising junior…

-Don’t do science research unless you are really dedicated to it. I did it my freshman and sophomore year and realized that I didn’t have enough time to dedicate to it and ended up wasting a whole lot of time that could have been used better other places.

-Research stuff on your own. Don’t let your guidance counselor be your sole decision maker. I definitely would not have taken an ap that my top two schools don’t even accept. Again, lots of work for time wasted.


DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! You look at people who make calendars and schedules as nerds, but seriously, it helps! I started keeping a monthly calendar this year and its really saving my butt. My teachers often assign homework on monday thats due friday, or similar long term assignments, and i found myself starting it the day before. This especially hurts when I get home from track meets at 9 or 10 and then have to do my 3 hours of home work that i saved up.
Instead of being a social butterfly, get a group of maybe 6 or 7 core friends that are always available to hang out with, share similar hobbies/interests. I started off with many groups of friends and like 15 okay friends. Its easy to say that almost all of them didn’t really care whether I was with them or not, now its a lot better because i have my own group of 6 guys and 7 girls and we hang out, and yes sometimes drink together.
Don’t be afraid to experiment! I’m not saying become an alcoholic or a pot head or a sex addict/pregnant. But establish morals for yourself and follow them, and don’t judge people for drinking/smoking/having sex. I wouldn’t recommend doing drugs, but some kids that do really aren’t horrible kids.
Any clubs that you think could interest you at all, do. I did one club my freshman year and it was such a bad idea. Now i’m a member of three clubs, two of which I’m an officer in.
If possible, join a sport. My track friends are all really great together and there’s really no learning experience like a team sport.
And finally, make your summers count! Whether you go to camp, summer program at a college, get an internship, or get a job at a local store. Everyone I know wishes they made the most of their summers when they were freshman/sophomores. You would really be surprised at the amount of money I made working at my local pizza place. (got paid off the books =])


Good luck, Everyone’s advice is really good. But follow your gut!