A Letter to a Freshmen

Freshmen year. Four years. 1,460 days. 1,126,144,000 seconds. It seems like eternity, trust me, I’ve been there. Countless hours spent studying for tests, working on group projects, running miles on end to medal in cross country, or finishing a masterpiece in art class. Maybe for you time will be spent working on your footwork so you can play varsity on Friday nights, hitting the high notes in choir, or memorizing periodic trends for that one, really hard chemistry test. The fact of the matter is, there are so many directions these next few years could lead you, and if you’re like me, you’ll be counting down until graduation. I have 124 days, 5 hours, 43 minutes, and 53 seconds left as we speak. What’s important is finding what makes you forget how much you have yet to go. Whether it’s enrolling in agriculture education class and learning how to weld, or gaining entrepreneurship skills in business class, there is a place for everyone in highschool. Coming from a class of 24 students, sometimes it can be hard to imagine that to be true. However, with an open mind, I promise you can do it.
Maybe you shouldn’t be counting down until graduation, however one kind of date you should be paying attention to are due dates. Warning: due dates are much, much closer than they appear. In order to prevent procrastination, late assignments, and poor grades, this is a must. Maybe you don’t realize it now, but grades matter. GPAs matter. The higher the GPA, the more college scholarships you will get. Take it from someone who will be facing the high cost of college in just seven months. Even though, I shouldn’t be counting. Maybe college isn’t the route you will take. Joining the workforce or learning a trade both require a hardworking and determined mindset.
High school isn’t just about learning about the pythagorean theorem, or where commas go in a sentence. It’s about learning to respect your teachers and parents, but also your peers. In high school, and in life, you aren’t always going to see eye-to-eye with everyone. What’s important is seeing the world from angles much different than yours. Be compassionate and always be willing to lend a hand, even if it risks your popularity. At Washington Leadership Conference in our nation's capital, I learned a phrase. “Doing what we can, with what we have, where we are.” That is my challenge to you. You don’t have to be class president to make an impact, being kind to one classmate will make all the difference.

As people, it’s in our nature to count the days. “How many days until Christmas?” “Ugh, I can’t wait to live on my own.” “Vacation is 19 days away!” “1,460 days until graduation!” You have four years. Four years of growth. Four years of adventure. Four years of hard work. You may spend your years cheering at halftime, volunteering at your local soup kitchen, or hanging out with friends. No matter what you do, don’t count the days. Make the days count.

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