In high school, just like in every other aspect of life, first impressions are the most important. If you want to succeed and make the most of it, you should work hard from the beginning. The way you portray yourself is the way that you will be perceived later on. Starting out on the right track will make the next four years a blast! Here are some tips on how to become a successful student from the beginning.

 Lesson 1: You shouldn’t fall behind on homework. Making stuff up later on is a lot more challenging than just sitting down and doing it right as it is assigned.

• I learned the lesson above, when I fell behind in a bunch of classes two years ago. The only thing that missing class leads to is a lot more stress because now, not only did I have to make up work from before, but I also had to focus on the new material that is being presented to me. 

Lesson 2: Get your grades up as high as possible before finals so that you don’t have those borderline grades you have to worry about when the time comes.  

• I learned this lesson is when I figured out that finals are one of the most stressful times for a student. I know this because during finals week I barely get any sleep in order to be able to get more study time in. Every single year, I get my grades up as high as possible before finals and use the Semester Grade Calculator (https://docs.google.com/a/student.leyden212.org/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj56orY5GvM7dHZZdG5MODBzZWFrZFRQZEtydUEwSFE#gid=0) to be able to plan out which tests I need to study for the most.

Lesson 3: Respect the teachers and follow their instructions. They are there to help you in any way that they could. Don’t take it for granted and make the most of it.

• You can ask anyone at school and they will tell you that they have seen students be disrespectful to the teachers-more specifically vulnerable, new teachers. I have had a couple of student teachers in my four years of high school and in every single case, there were at least two students who were being disrespectful to them and completely disregarded what they have to say.

 Lesson 4: Enjoy high school to the fullest! You should look at every opportunity that is given to you and take advantage of it. Join clubs, get involved, and most importantly have fun! Before you know it, high school will be over and you will have to take on the real world.

• I can’t believe that senior year is already here. I didn’t take advantage of any clubs my freshman year and that is one my biggest regrets. I could have met a lot more people with the same interests as me and enjoyed my first year of high school a lot more than I actually did.

 Lesson 5: You should start thinking about college. College applications and deadlines will come a lot faster than you think. The more prepared you are, the better off you will be.

• A lot of the seniors still don’t know which college they want to go to. I personally am stuck between a couple, so the earlier that you start to think about this subject, the more stress free it will be later on in the years! Start to take advantage of classes that will help you in your field of study during college.