Dear Freshmen,
Welcome to CollegeBored! Here you’ll find your two favorite writers giving you somewhat heartfelt advice about the college admissions process throughout the year. We’re here to support you (and bash the College Board while we’re at it). Don’t worry, we’re definitely qualified to give a little overview of what life is like at Lexington High School. But even if you don’t trust us… too bad. You’ve got no choice.
In all seriousness, maybe you’ve already started thinking about college and what you want to do in the future. College is a conversation topic you’ll find scattered throughout the hallways of our school. But as of now, you aren’t a college student. You’re a high schooler. And here’s how to navigate high school for the next four years.
A new beginning: Nikki’s advice
Let me start off by saying that the first few weeks of freshman year are not going to define the rest of your high school experience. If you start roaming the Math building trying to find your French classroom and as a result, show up five minutes late (this may or may not be a true story), DON’T WORRY. Teachers are super understanding, and showing up a few minutes late during the first few weeks is not going to land you in detention for life. Similarly, when you finally do find your French classroom and realize you lost some of your ability to speak French over the summer and say “Je ne comprends pas/I don’t understand” in front of the whole class (again, this may or may not be a true story), don’t worry, no one is going to kick you down to 6th grade French.
As a freshman, I wanted to be perfect. College, Ivy League, college, was all I would hear. I’d heard rumors that everyone had a 4.33 GPA and went to Harvard and as a result, I put a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself. Here’s your first LHS myth debunked: not everyone has a 4.33, and not everyone goes to Harvard.
Freshman year is for exploring a plethora of subjects that interest you and meeting like-minded peers. Keep your eye out for the activities fair, which usually takes place in late September. There, you’ll be introduced to over 100 clubs. Literally sign up for all of them; you can later choose which ones you’re actually interested in (but also if you don’t want your inbox blowing up with 50 emails each day from clubs you don’t recall signing up for even though you did, maybe carefully select a few…but that’s a personal preference).
As a junior, I can tell you I’ve been far from perfect these past few years. Take it from me: if you’re walking out of the World Language building in the January of sophomore year just to have someone open the door, accidentally slam it in your face, and then have someone else try to throw a snowball at the person in front of you but it hits you instead, that’s okay.
When it gets intense: Alexis’ advice
Everyone says LHS is like high school on steroids. And while I’ve only been here for three years, I think I’ve lost more than ten years of my life. But don’t stress! Everything will be fine… if you know how to handle it. All of us have failed our fair share of tests (I don’t want to think about it), but one grade doesn’t change anything. When freshman year started, I strove for a 4.33 GPA. Did I get that? No, not even close. But it was what I thought would make me a competitive applicant. Too many of us have shaped our lives to fit the mold of the gold-standard college applicant without thinking about ourselves.
You’re 14 or 15 years old. Now is the time to explore, discover, and hang out with friends. At the end of the day, high school is still just one part of the life you have ahead of you. You aren’t expected to discover a new element or win a Nobel Prize. And to make it clear, it’s okay if those first-day mishaps carry on throughout the years. It still happens to all of us.
In a few years, you won’t be thinking about the time you got a 40% on a test. Instead, you’ll remember the late night drives with friends, the countless sleepovers, and the laughter you shared with so many. Now is your time to shine. So live and let live.
Our Final Thoughts
All this advice isn’t meant to convince you that freshman year is going to be sunshine and rainbows. Instead, we want to encourage you to not stress out too much this year and see all that LHS has to offer. Remember: your Earth Science test grade does not define you. You don’t have to panic that you didn’t take the SAT in 5th grade to show colleges how smart you are. You’ve got this, trust us.
Wishing you all the best,
Alexis and Nikki
