Mishka Kapoor ‘21
EE Features Editor
Freshmen year. The first year of high school. A fresh start and a new chapter in life. It can seem scary, but at the same time, exciting.
A month has already passed, and by now the school year has taken full force. With the right mindset, maintaining good grades and staying on task will come easily. Unfortunately, it can also become easy to fall behind on assignments as coursework seems to increase in difficulty. Some anxiety is understandable, but fear not because there are so many ways to be successful. A few upperclassmen voiced their opinions in order to ensure a productive school year for freshmen.
Anushka Gangwar, a senior, believes that balance is key. “One thing to help get through high school is to balance everything,” Anushka explains. “Make sure you do your school work, but don’t make school work all you do.”
Basically, do not consume your time with only homework, projects, and studying. Time management is a skill used on a daily basis, so it is important, and also healthy, to give yourself time everyday to do something you like. “Make sure you have some free time to watch Netflix, go for a walk, or just chill,” Anushka adds. This will help reduce stress and help work on assignments with a clear head.
Karissa Delli Carpini agrees time is of the essence: “I would stay on top of your work and don’t procrastinate so your work doesn’t pile up.” As a busy senior, Karissa has to apply for college, maintain excellent grades throughout her classes, all while playing a fall sport. To cope with all her tasks, she gets things done right away. “Do your work as soon as possible so you don’t have as much stress,” she says.
It is important to do your work on time, so you will not have to cram everything in at the last possible moment. Instead of telling yourself that you will get work done later, complete the work now so you do not have to worry about it the night before it is due. Furthermore, working on projects throughout a longer period of time makes each part more feasible and allows one to provide a better effort.
Senior Blake Asaro, concludes, emphasizing the importance of time, “You should have a planner or some sort of schedule to manage your work. Use extra help if you are confused about a topic.”
Organization is among the best ways to stay on track during the school year. Without a way of seeing all your assignments, whether it be in an agenda pad or a device, it is hard to remember everything that needs to be done, therefore forgetting assignments becomes common. A psychology professor named Gail Matthews conducted a goal-setting study involving 270 participants, at the Dominican University of California. The study results showed that writing down tasks and goals makes one 42% more likely to achieve them.
Next, extra help is an excellent way to clear up topics that you do not understand, or just if you need some more guidance. It allows for a teacher to address each student individually, which is not something given during regular class time. Additionally, most teachers stay after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays, which are the days that the late buses come, so you can easily get a ride home if you do not have one.
So, as freshman embark on the exciting, yet sometimes stressful journey that high school is, it is important that they remember to manage their time, avoid procrastination, and stay organized. Everyone was once a freshman, and they survived, so you can too!