Dear Classmates

Dear Classmates,

Freshman year has come and gone and I can't believe that we are almost sophomores!  I am sad that the year is ending because I have grown so much as a student, and as a person throughout this entire year.  I actually think that I may have learned more this year than I have in all of my other nine years at EHS combined.  Going into high school, I had absolutely no idea what to expect.  I didn't know any of the teachers, what my classes would be like, how much homework I would have, and I was completely unaware of how much different it would be than middle school.  In middle school, the teachers pretty much held your hand every step of the way.  Easy points were given, the tests weren't very difficult, and we never had an excessive amount of homework.  I'm not gonna say that middle school didn't have its challenges, but it was NOTHING compared to high school.  Yes, getting a heads-up about all of the challenges and new things I would face in high school would have been nice, but I managed without it.  If I could go back in time and give myself tips about everything I would need to know about surviving high school, and what I should do to prepare myself, this is what I would say:

1.)  No matter how hard it may be, do not procrastinate.  Procrastination is something that many people struggle with, including myself, but it is just about the worst thing you can do in high school.  You are just setting yourself up for more stress, and not doing your best on assignments because you are rushing to get them done at the last minute.  Do your work ahead of time, trust me...it makes life SO much easier.

2.) Annotate your books.  It may be a pain, but it is soooo helpful when it comes to studying for tests, or just talking about the book in class.  Last year we weren't required to annotate, but this year, you have to annotate about every book you read, so be prepared for that.  Write down any questions, connections, or important things that stand out to you while you're reading.  

3.) Organization is the key to success.  Organize your time, things, and mind...ORGANIZE EVERYTHING.  I am a freak about organization, like it's crazy how overboard I go.  I always have my sticky notes open on my laptop desktop so I can immediately write down anything important that I need to remember.  Organize your time and space out when you are going to study, do homework, etc.. so you don't have a panic attack about not having enough time to finish things.  Organizing your binders will also help you to not stress because you always know where everything is, and don't have to worry about things getting lost. 

I have really enjoyed freshman english with all of y'all and am going to miss our crazy class.  I hope that we have some classes together next year!  Have a good summer!