In High School, Don't Forget by Jennifer

In High School, Don't Forget by Jennifer - March 2019 Scholarship Essay

My one piece of advice to incoming freshmen would be to take care of themselves mentally and physically. Many things in life will change during this time, including views and physical appearance. Learning to be yourself is the most important thing during this time. During high school, it is easy to get lost in this chaotic world of academics, sports, work, and drama.
I can't stress enough how important it is to work hard in your classes starting freshman year. There is a good chance you don't know what you want to do with the rest of your life, so working hard from the start in school will help you earn scholarships if you decide that college is the path for you. Even if you have no intention of going to college, early employers can look at strong grade point averages to see how hard of a worker you are. It is important to make sure that you don't stress too much on your grades. You will likely lose sleep at some point, but don't do that too often. It will begin to affect you mentally, emotionally, and physically. You won't perform at your best self and won't help you learn content at the desired level in class. This will create a downward spiral in your mental health if not helped.
Sports and work often compete with each other as you get farther into high school. For this reason, I recommend trying multiple sports and activities in your first couple of years. It will help keep you physically in shape, which is proven to help your mental health. You won't like everything you try, but you won't know unless you try. You don't have to do activities you don't like later years. In the later years of high school, many people get jobs. It is harder to keep up with as many activities and sports specifically. Learn what you really want to do for those years so that you don't stress yourself out too much. This will often cause you to lose sleep at night trying to do homework, after work, after sports practice, after school.
You will lose friends, but you will make new friends. This is normal and a natural part of life. You don't have to be friends with everyone in the school, but don't be anything other than yourself just to fit it with a particular friend group. If you do turn out having bad relationships with people in high school, don't worry about making their life a mess. Let them live their life so you can live yours.
I want to leave off saying to have fun in high school. After this, you'll either enter college or go straight into the workforce; maybe you're already in the workforce. Life will just get busier as you go on with more and more responsibilities, so enjoy it now while you can.