Do you feel that your freshman year doesn’t count or that it won’t affect you later in high school? If you feel or felt this way you need to read this…especially if you are a current freshman.  You really need to pay attention to this because it can benefit you in ways you have never imagined.

I’m a senior now, but my freshman year was awful.  It affected me not only in my freshman year when I struggled, but has continued to affect me throughout my other three years of high school.  What happened? Well, I failed two classes due to a lack of perseverance and, in one class, a lack of help and guidance from my teacher. I didn’t think about the consequences of failing a class until it was too late. In fact, late might not be a strong enough word since I didn’t really know I failed the classes until my junior year! It was then that I was told by my counselor that I was missing a credit in history from my freshman year and still needed to finish my art credit.

When I found out that I had to make up these credits I panicked. I pictured my mom yelling at me because I knew that she would be mad. I tried to find a way to hide this from her but inside  I knew I wouldn’t be able to do so, I would have to pay for night school or sign up for another program to help me graduate on time. So, I told my mom and she was not happy. She told me, “if you just had taken your freshman year serious or asked for more help you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

She was right; I wish I did ask for more help and had taken my freshman year more seriously.

I wish I could go back and ask for more help in my history class, tell the kids around me to stop talking instead of joining in, ask my teacher if he will help me at lunch, or give me a chance to make work up, but I can’t.  I can’t go back to my art class – a class I actually enjoyed – and turn in my portfolio. You can never go back. There is no start over button. That’s why I’m sharing this with you.

I wouldn’t wish the struggles I had freshman year, and what I’ve had to do to gain my credits back, on anyone. Realizing, too late, that you need to work harder and learning, too late, how to  maintain good grades doesn’t get me a do-over for freshman year, but for you it may not be too late.

I suggest you take your freshman year – and every year –  seriously because if you don’t you will become like me, just another kid struggling  through high school. So, don’t fall behind. Don’t skip your classes because you think its cool. Even though you don’t want to be there and do the work, all of that will catch up to you when you come back to class. You have more work than you wanted. You start falling off track and end up with a low grade because you didn’t do the work you missed. You should stay in class and just get through with the work. It makes it faster and easier when you get everything done on time and it is less stressful. Please take this advice into consideration because if you do you will see how less stressful school is.