Senior Advice

By: Julia Xia; Staff Writer

With the year coming to a close,  many students are wondering what they could do differently in the next year. Whether it’s a freshman becoming a sophomore,  or a junior becoming a senior, a little extra knowledge on how to survive high school is something everyone needs. There are three main aspects to high school life that many people seem to struggle with, or get stressed out about: extra-curricular activities, education, and social life. The main reason for these struggles is that many students go into high school not knowing anything about it. 

So where should you go to get this advice? Well, look further than your school’s seniors! Since they’ve all been in high school longer than the rest of us, they’re bound to know more, and have past experiences that underclassmen can learn from. But you might be wondering why it’s better to listen to the words of a few  high schoolers, rather than a teacher or an administrator. Well, it would be more beneficial to receive advice from someone around your age because they grew up in a similar environment; they’ve experienced many of the same modern-day high school worries that someone like a teacher wouldn’t be able to understand because they went to high school in a different time period. 

The first important aspect of high school is the extra-curricular activities you choose during the year. Whether it’s joining a fun club, having an after-school job, or internship, many students want to do activities such as these because they help students gain work experience, they are a good addition to your college applications, and they are a great way to explore new hobbies and interests. 

Ciara Whiple, a high school senior here at Mills, explains that one of the ways she found internships or small jobs was by going to the career center. One of the main problems that seems to come up is that a lot of the part time jobs around Millbrae require the person to be eighteen or older. Since we are in high school, a lot of the students here aren’t old enough to apply for these jobs. The board at the career center is specifically there to show kids what’s going on, and what options are a bit more inclusive in terms of age and scheduling.

When it comes to clubs, Ciara also added that many students think that they should join as many clubs as they can in order to gain experience, and have more things to put on their college applications; she then goes on to explain that, one of the things that many colleges look for is not how many things you’ve done, but how committed you were to these activities. If you join club after club but never fully commit to any of them, this won’t look as good as joining one or two and staying with it for multiple years. Doing it this way would also relieve some stress because you wouldn’t be constantly switching the clubs you’re in. 

The second aspect of high school is your education: your classes, grades, electives, ect. This is probably the most stressful part of high school considering the fact that many students are pressured by their parents to have perfect grades. Whether they’re busy, or just uninterested in the class, many kids struggle with procrastination and finding the right motivation to actually do their work. One of the ways you can organize your work is to make a schedule. If you were to do so, be sure to take into account your after-school activities; when you usually eat dinner; and when you begin to feel tired; and create an after-school schedule that works to make time for your homework, but also makes sure you have time to eat and sleep. It’s always important to make sure you know yourself, when you get tired and when you’re the most productive. 

Another senior, Ryan, gave some advice on how to study for your tests: make flashcards,  or go on websites like quizlet and find some online flashcards. The reason why flashcards are really helpful when it comes to studying for tests is that they help you memorize the words or equations that you need to pass. Another way, similar to flashcards,  is to just write down the terms you need to know multiple times to get your brain to memorize them. 

             The last part of high school is your social life, also known as your relationships. Whether you’re extremely extroverted, or extremely introverted,  everyone has somewhat of a social life during high school, and it’s important to make sure that you never let what happens really get to you. When asked about her friendships in high school, Ciara Whiple explains that in high school, the relationships you start out with are often different from the ones you end with. High school is a time where we all begin to develop and form our own identities, so the friends we thought would stick with us till the very end might end up becoming different people whom you’re not really compatible with. While a situation like this can easily make the people involved feel like it was their fault, and make them wonder if it was their fault, it’s important to note that sometimes things can happen between friends, but they aren’t necessarily the fault of any one person. 

At the end of the day, high school isn’t easy. There is always going to be one part that you don’t truly understand, and that’s ok. During this period,  everyone is growing and becoming a completely different person than they were before, and it’s always good to have some advice from the people that came before you.