As senioritis claims many seniors on these last days (including myself), it’s very difficult to find motivation to do anything even slightly related to schoolwork. Even writing this article itself—in which I pretend to have learned some huge concept in high school and need to communicate to underclassman—is difficult to write. No research needs to be done, no outline or pre-writing, just asking for my knowledge is apparently too much to ask, but I will try never the less. Here’s several things I wished someone told me as an underclassman in high school, as well as some memories of mine throughout the (hopefully) most awkward time in my life.

This stuff really matters. No seriously. I don’t want to be another person telling you this, but high school grades really matter. Everyone stressed you out from the time your barely a teenager till your senior year about how much schoolwork matters, and while it’s easy to dismiss, they’re telling you the truth. When I started my high school career at St. Ed’s (I know), I didn’t really try at school. While I wasn’t failing in any sense, looking back at my freshman and sophomore year transcripts brings mea little embarrassment. And while everyone says all the things you need to pass high school, I wish someone told me this wasn’t middle school anymore, you can’t just come to class and get straight A’s like many of us could, you might actually have to study for a test, read a book, and take notes. Don’t fall into the mistake many of us do and tank your GPA freshman and sophomore year and struggle your later years to get it back up like I did.

But also nothing matters. It’s easy in high School to get caught up in the drama, and let that distract you from what is really important. My sophomore year (still at Ed’s) was plagued with drama, which pulled me away from my school work, making it my worst year in grades. While a relationship or friends might seem like the most important thing right now, it really isn’t. Your main reason to be at the high school 5 days a week is to get good grades, and while it comes with many relationships, just keep the main objective in mind.

Don’t care about the judgements of other people. The self-esteem of high schoolers is second to only middle schoolers in terms of how low it can get. Everyone is self-councious about everything, from the clothes they wear, to the clubs they’re in, to the friends they make. My junior year I transferred to LHS, and was the most self-conscious I could remember. The thought of returning to all my old friends I haven’t seen since middle school, I wanted to show a different person then I actually was, making junior year very difficult. In the end, trying to please others over yourself is just a pointless effort, and will prove to not make you a happier person. Do what you want to do, no matter the judgements of others.

Finally, delusions of grandeur. Okay, you got your grades in check, all A’s, you got your mental health (relatively) in check, and you’ve made friends you will keep the rest of your life. As you come into your senior year, you expect it to be amazing, like you’ve seen in the past with all your senior friends going off into the world and leaving the halls of LHS. I know I did. And while senior year wasn’t horrible in any sense (probably the best year of high school I’ve had yet), it’s not going to be perfect. You might not go to some far off expensive college, you might not go to prom with that special someone, you might not do all the things you planned on senior year, and someone needed to tell me (and you) that that’s okay. If your always trying to make senior year this perfect string of events, you’ll never be happy with what it actually turns out to be.

Now that this article has gotten significantly longer than almost all the other article I’ve written for this class, I’ll recap my favorite memories quickly. Almost all my joys at LHS have been found in the music program, playing in Lakewood Project and orchestra, having the time of my life learning and playing with my fellow musicians. In this program, I found some of my closes friends, and without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I’m excited next year to be attending CSU for music performance, following my dreams to become a musician. I will be forever thankful to LHS for shaping me to be the person I am, and while I am slightly scared of the future ahead, I’ve never been more excited to find myself in a situation than I am right now.