Dear Incoming Freshmen
Welcome, to your first year of the “greatest years of your life.” But I have to be honest with you, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. Sure, it’s a little harder than middle school, but nothing some good time-managing won’t take care of. Every single one of you will be telling yourself that high school will be a breeze, that your going to ace all of your classes, just like every freshmen ever, but there are many unforeseen and easily avoidable distractions that we allow to get in our way.
Sports and Extra-curricular Activities
Yes, everyone talks about how important being part of teams and clubs outside of class is super important for getting into college, if that’s what you want to do, but it shouldn’t take precedence over your classes and academics. Students, including myself, think that doing sports isn’t that big of a strain on our daily lives, there’s only a 3 practices a week, but that doesn’t include game days, or even the time you practice outside of school if you want to excel. When you get home until 6 every night, nobody wants to even think of homework. Even those of you who think you’re the next Michael Jordan at your respective sport, education is still important, because after retiring, or if you have an accident, you will have nowhere to work unless you have that crispy college diploma.
Video Games, and TV
I think video games is a really big distraction for most guys, including me, and a fair share of girls too. There’s nothing like getting home, after a hard day of school, and hopping on PS4 with the boys. The problem is that you can sit there, in front of the TV for hours, and feel like no time has passed. I unfortunately speak from experience. The same concept applies to watching TV shows or movies. Last night I stayed up until midnight finishing up watching All American, and consequently didn’t finish this letter to you on time. We all know the potential of electronics to waste our time, but we enjoy it and don’t see it as a bad thing. I mean that’s until we take a look at our grades, and wonder why it looks like alphabet soup.
Amigos and Amigas
Sure, having friends is an important part of being human, making connections with those around us, but it is also important to remember the value of those connections and how our friends affect how our behavior and mood. Being friends with those that have bad habits isn’t good for us, so why stick around them. Of course, it isn’t right to abandon your close friends because of a simple fight, giving second chances is vital to helping them improve, but once you’re on your third, or fourth, sometimes you have to accept the fact that your friendships is good for either of you. You hear people say to not let yourself be influenced by those around you, but this isn’t always a rule you should follow. If you surround yourself by friends that care about you, and have good habits for studying and avoid trouble, you should definitely follow their example. If you have friends who smoke and do drugs, while you may not want to drop them entirely, at least remember that your actions are your own choice, and it’s not their fault when you accept, and join in, and consequences of those decisions will follow.
Relationships
Well, obviously this is one would be on my list of distractions, and it may be the greatest of all, but it doesn’t mean you have to steer clear of them. If you want to talk different people because you’re bored and have nothing else, then that’s a distraction, and not always a nice thing to do to those you play around with. If you truly have feelings for someone, you should pursue them, and them alone, and do it responsibly. Get to know them, invite them for coffee or lunch, and still give each other the time you need to do well in school, because the last thing you want once you leave high school is being in a relationship, and not have a good job, forcing you to live with your parents. What you shouldn’t do is know them superficially, with your goal being sleeping with them, that’s an immature thing to do and will not help in the long run. And use condoms. :)
I know you will most likely disregard this, and at the end of the year, when you have to write this letter for the following freshmen, you will write about these same experiences, and wonder why you didn’t listen to me.