Dear Class of 2029,

Welcome to Lexington High School! The next four years will be a rollercoaster of ups and downs, a time when you will persevere through struggles and exult in successes. Life is a journey, and so is high school. Start your journey knowing that the person you become may be entirely different from who you are now, and that’s totally okay! 

We hope that as you start your freshman year, some upperclassmen’s advice will ease your transition into high school and remind you that you’re not facing the next four years alone. Here is one piece of advice from each of us to start you on your journey. 

William: Take Action

As a senior, I hear a lot of talk about ‘lasts.’ You, on the other hand, are about to experience a bunch of ‘firsts.’ So soak it all in. The things that you might experience as the bad, the ruts, the bumps in the road, are never permanent. But so are the things that you see as good, great, or successful. At the end of four years, you will be a coalescence of all things. 

Allow me to digress. It will seem that the world around you is expecting more. Higher this, more that. But before you plunge headstrong into whatever you do, think and breathe. Time never comes back. It is all going to become a memory. There are things that you have not done, or sacrificed in the pursuit of something else, that once missed, cannot be returned to. This is not intended to strike fear. It is about knowing why something that is done today cannot be put off for tomorrow, and so it must be done today.

And so, what do you do today?

Victoria: Put Yourself First

The one thing I want you to remember from my part of this letter is to do things for yourself—not for college or other people. Let me explain.

Now that you’ve entered high school, I’m sure you’re already thinking about college. You’re looking to take hard classes, join high-profile clubs, and collect leadership positions. Your parents likely encourage this, and you’ll feel peer pressured by your seemingly more successful friends to do the impressive activities that they’re doing.

I was like that, too. In fact, I originally joined The Musket because I had friends doing it, and because I thought it would look good on my college application.

But you don’t need to take every notable opportunity just because it looks impressive or because of peer pressure. I stuck with The Musket because I found a genuine liking for journalism, not because it “looked good.” Unlike my more STEM-oriented friends, I also took several humanities electives just because they aligned with my interests.

LHS offers a plethora of opportunities, but ‘plethora’ also equals excessive—it means more than enough. Debate, Math Team, and AP Biology aren’t items on a bucket list, so only explore them if they genuinely interest you. Remember, you’re at LHS to get the education that you want.

Let this be a sign for you to take agency over your own life. Freshman year is the prime time to explore who you are, so stay true to yourself.

Riyanna: Be Kind to Yourself

Sometime between the first days of freshman year, when you are navigating yourself through the LHS halls, to senior year, when the walls around you have become a familiarity, you will grow up.  

In just four years, you will experience many changes—some exciting, some not, and some that you don’t even realize have occurred along the way. 

Be kind to yourself as you go through these next years. Whether you do well or struggle in some classes, make or lose some friends along the way, or face other good or not so good moments, always treat yourself with the utmost grace. 

Be your biggest cheerleader. You can and will get through the toughest obstacles. I hope you look back in four years and feel pride for how much you have learned, in school and about yourself, and feel fulfillment in the person who walks off that graduation stage and to the next chapter in life.  

Sincerely,

Your EICs