Three years ago I was walking onto campus for the first time as a highschool student. It was a scary time of finding friends, adjusting to the workload, and avoiding walking into the big seniors. Over the past three years I have learned many lessons, and I have some advice for the freshman this year.

Sports

Although many are not the sporty type, students still have to finish four seasons of a sport or two years of PE. From my experience, I don’t want to waste my electives on PE so I joined Field Hockey my freshman year then joined the Crew team. Field Hockey was a valuable experience, not because I was a superstar(I wasn’t) but because I made many friends. Because I did the summer camp before school started and tryouts were the week before school, I met other freshmen and had friends already. It was nice to already have friends going into high school and having people to sit with at lunch right away. Join sports for the people, not necessarily the spot itsels.

Drama

Drama is a fun part of high school and Mrs Wilson is a gem. Students who are even remotely interested in acting, musical theater, lights, microphones, hair and makeup, or costumes should work on at least one play during all of high school. They are a lot of fun to watch and more fun to work on, although I may be biased because I worked on tech and did hair and makeup.

Spirit wear

Every Friday students are allowed to wear a spirit shirt and jeans. I suggest to buy and wear all the spirit shirts you can. It’s fun wearing the different themed shirts on Friday’s and especially during the football games. I never bought any spirit wear as an underclassman and only wore the same shirt every Friday and that became boring and repetitive. Now that I’m a senior, I regret not having more spirit shirts I can wear to school, games, the gym, and as pajamas.

Football games/dances

High school only lasts four years. We are at a very specific time in our lives that we can never relive. I recommend going to at least one football game a year and all the dances. Prom only happens 2 your entire life(more if you get asked by an upperclassman as an underclassman). It’s important to experience what it’s like. Just because those things aren’t interesting to everyone now, they may be after highschool. Going to these events are a good way to make new friends.

Clubs

Joining clubs is not only great for the college resume but also a way to meet people and explore different interests. There are so many clubs at Cathedral about anything, whether that’s politics, STEM, arts, service, business, or religion. Exploring different avenues of life is a great part of high school.

Classes

Over the years I have taken numerous AP classes about subjects I am not interested in. In my experience, it is not worth it. Everyone is smart in their own way, but it’s pretty much impossible to be great in every subject. Understand your strengths and focus on the subjects that you like, instead of spreading yourself too thin. Colleges like hard classes, but they want to see that you succeed in the subject that you will major in. There is no point in getting a C in an AP class if you could’ve gotten an A in the regular version. Don’t worry about getting the highest gpa possible, worry about your happiness and take care of yourself.

That is all the advice I have myself, but if you want more, talk and ask different seniors!