By Sabrina McElyea
After 13 years of schooling, the Class of 2021 is finally ready to graduate. Along the way they have made mistakes and have learned from them. Because of these mistakes and their years of schooling, they have plenty of tips for underclassmen.
Aidan Kissick says that you should get a head start on things to be better prepared for life. “You should get a job early on in high school because it will help you learn time management and money skills.”
Kamryn Baker’s advice is to make sure you don’t procrastinate, no matter how hard it is. “When you have free time, make sure to spend it working on assignments and getting ahead. It makes you feel so much better and causes less stress.”
Luke Woodson says to branch out and try everything. “Try every sport or club or activity that comes your way so you don’t regret not doing more later.”
Levi Shelley advises you to take the classes that interest you the most. “Try out different classes that seem interesting to you! Taking classes that you have no interest in or don’t care about harms your mental health and gives you no motivation. Taking fun, interesting classes will motivate you to keep working and give you more opportunities to work with!”
Meliah Shockley’s advice is to not worry about it too much. “Stop worrying about if you’re going to graduate. You will get there. Take it one day at a time, even one hour at a time. If you are low on credits, you’ll get there. Believe in yourself and it will pay off.”
Eloise McKean has a similar piece of advice. “Don’t sweat it. Don’t overthink it. Communicate with your teachers if you have any questions at all, even if you think the question is dumb. If you communicate with your teachers, they will be understanding most of the time.”
Brett Shearer wants you to take it easy on yourself. “Don’t beat yourself up too much over your grades or your faults. You will make it through if you stick to it and hold your chin up high.”
Landon Hines suggests that you give it your all. “Work hard. Do your homework and show up to school and you’ll do just fine.”
Kinsey Matchett also suggests that you give it your all. “Get work done early and spread the workload out! This makes it easier to make a schedule and have time to do what you want and hang out with friends.”
Kylie Del Pozzi advises you to turn in your work, no matter the quality. “My biggest piece of advice would be to do your work. Even if you know you’ll get a bad grade turn it in! Any grade is better than a zero and you always learn from your mistakes. You can’t learn anything if you don’t even attempt to do something.”
Natalee Bohanon says to just keep moving forward. “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming.”
Tatyana Ervin’s advice would be to not hold yourself back. “Go for it because you may never have a second chance.”
Luke Belangee says to make friends. “Have fun and make as many friends as possible because it goes by super fast and you want to look back and have good memories.”
Hunter Wilson says to stick with it. “You may hate being here every day, but you’ll enjoy the time you have here. You’ll miss the memories you made and wish you could go back.”
Elijah Thompson’s advice is to not stress. “It’s not as bad as most people make it out to be. As long as you apply yourself and stay updated you’ll be fine.”
Callum Hotmire advises underclassmen to always work hard. “I would tell underclassmen, particularly the freshmen, to always work hard in class. That way they do not have to worry about making up classes later in their high school career.”
Grayson Zgunda says to make time for school work. “Set aside time to do homework and to study for tests and quizzes.”
Maranda Stotler advises freshmen to stay on top of things. “Don’t slack ’cause freshmen and sophomore year are the more important years.”
Jadon Richey says to complete assignments. “Just do your work even when you don’t want to and you’ll be ok.”
Mario Lopez’s advice is to enjoy it all. “Enjoy every single minute of high school because before you know it, you’re going to be graduating.”
Leslie Daugherty says to not have regrets. “Enjoy it with no regrets and just live life to the fullest.”
