Advice to help future students make high school go a long way

When I tell people I am graduating from Riverside High School, they usually respond with the question, "Don't you guys have mold there?"

But like all other high schools, the impression that we are left with is not created by the school's maintenance issues (which no one pays attention to anyway), but by the memories and experiences that we have shared throughout the years.

After four years, I now consider myself an "experienced" high schooler and have several tips to leave the upcoming underclassmen with as they embark on their journey that ultimately prepares them for the future.

Don't be afraid to look at things from a different perspective. There is nothing like the brief glory of giving another solution to one of Mr. Nermyr's impossible pre-calculus problems.

Try not to let your insecurities get in the way of truly experiencing high school. You may feel like the smallest freshman in a huge hallway lined with seniors, but by the time you leave, it will seem tiny in comparison to the vast world you are heading into.

Holding petty grudges is only a waste of time and energy. Learn to forgive and forget because high school is about making friends you'll be telling "remember-when" stories about even if you never see them again.

And finally, you can't wait to get out - some people never really leave (ahem, graduated seniors who come back for dances) - but these really are some of the best days of your life.

Like most advice, you can do with this what you will. Just remember to have fun, be good (not necessarily in that order) and live each moment to the fullest.

Copyright 2002 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.