Dear Verrado, Walking through those doors for the first time my mind was filled with wonder. Would all the ideas of high school be true like how cool it would feel to finally be here?  These wonders I had would soon help me adapt to the fast pace of high school friends I made as a freshman. I would like to thank you for a realistic idea of what it’s like in high school. Many laughs made a great freshman year.  Looking back at it now it’s crazy to see how different I became from then to now. My advice for future freshmen, make friends from all grade levels and learn from them the things they know about high school. 

My sophomore year was mostly spent in my bed due to COVID classes having to be done online. It was a new experience, but I thought it will be just like video games except someone will be trying to teach me math while I play. In all seriousness though learning through a screen was an interesting experience. It was a new way of learning and it allowed me to think differently. Who really should deserve credit for my sophomore year are my teachers and all the others who taught through COVID. Trying to come up with new ways of teaching us without constantly using Kahoot or Quizlet I’m sure was challenging. They had to try and keep us engaged and make sure we weren’t cheating half the time. So if you end up spending most of your time learning through a computer, firstly try and get good with computers, and secondly have a backup computer to look up answers. 

In my junior year, I was back in school, and seeing how much everyone changed was eye-opening. Getting back into the routine of being back in school was tiresome, but actually being able to meet my teachers and talk with friends made the process faster. There were some changes such as having to wear our masks, still having social distance from each other, along with having to be mindful of getting COVID.

During junior year I did a lot of new styles with new haircuts and clothes just trying to find myself and what style I like best. At some point, I tried either copying someone or trying styles to impress others. It took time to find the style I liked but having a truly good friend crack jokes at how dumb I looked helped guide my process in some odd way. Though remember change is good and you’ll experience it the whole during your time in high school. My advice is don’t do it for other people, do it for yourself, do what makes you happy cause in the end that is all that matters in high school. 

Dear Verrado, I am now a senior and I have grown so much in this time evolving my maturity, looks, and mindset. The number of times people said, “Watch out your senior year goes by fast.” I simply brushed it off and now I can’t even the beginning of my senior year. Personally, I think it’s because I’ve been here for four years and am excited to be so close to getting out. These memories I have made will shape me further into the person I will further become. These memories are valuable as I don’t know what my future holds so when obstacles come my way I hope I can use my valuable resources to surpass them. Looking forward I will learn further knowledge and soon will be following down my future career. My advice is to enjoy your senior year. Taking in every moment of it this year will be your most eye-opening to life. Experiencing freedom is a must as a senior and I am so grateful that my parents allowed me to gain an idea of independence so that I am more prepared for when I am on my own.