Staff Ed: New Year’s resolutions for students
If you didn’t set a New Year’s resolution this year, the editors who are there now or who’ve been there before have a couple of tips.
Freshmen: Freshman year can be a difficult adjustment for everyone, especially for students who didn’t attend BSM’s junior high. While these struggles are normal, they are also important for growth and an overall fulfilling high school experience. In this new year, focus on finishing out strong. Slacking off second semester will only have a negative impact because, honestly, it doesn’t get any easier. Just remember that teachers are always there to make students’ lives easier and hard work and consistency will pay off. Our best advice? Do your homework.
It’s also important to remember that while grades are important, don’t let stress take over. Make new friends and join a new club or spring sport––you won’t regret it.
Sophomores: Things are going to start getting crazy (if they aren’t already); be ready. In order to get prepared for both junior and senior year, start making good habits now. Stay on top of your school work because all grades matter equally.
Make friends and keep them close since those are the people who you are going to rely on in the future. This year is your chance to try different activities.
Loading ...As you start to get older you will realize how tiring school, sports, and extracurriculars are, so add naps to your schedules: it can help a lot and make a difference in your everyday life.
Finally, enjoy this year. This is (probably) going to be the easiest year of high school, so live in the moment and be grateful.
Juniors: Juniors, although you have probably just finished the hardest semester of your high school career, it is about to get a whole lot worse. This might not be what you wanted to hear, but it’s the truth, so you’re welcome.
Classes get harder, college becomes more of a reality, and the ACT starts to be more relevant. In order to continue your stride, you must maintain the momentum and drive you previously had; stay on top.
Although this may seem overwhelming, it is possible to accomplish. Stay focused and prioritize your academics. We promise: you will get through this and it will eventually end.
Seniors: Here’s our advice: enjoy your last taste of being a Red Knight, enjoy being the top dogs of the school, get some sleep, and make this year count.
Within the next few months, you are gonna be moving into college, which will bring you back to the bottom of the food chain. So for now, you should savor the homemade food, the free laundry., and the lack of a roommate. For now, you’re only a short drive away from your friends. For the next few months, live in the present.
Lastly, while you should relish your senior year, continue to make good choices. You wouldn’t want one mistake to ruin your memories of high school. So, do your best, be a leader, and end on a good note.
Pessimists: Okay, yeah we can be a little negative sometimes but with this bizarre world that we live in, there is no shortage of things to complain about. That being said, this year we are going to try to be more positive, and we’d encourage anybody who is pessimistic or errs on the negative side of a personal outlook to do the same.
By being more upbeat and outgoing we can impact the people in our lives in a more positive way, which is obviously a good thing. Giving things in our lives a chance lets us become more open to opportunities because opportunities accumulate as long as we continue seizing them.
We’re not saying you have to switch all the way over to optimism, but instead that you should try seeing our lives in a more neutral light versus a negative one.
Overachievers: There’s nothing wrong with working hard in school. In fact, you should be working hard in school, especially if you wanted to pursue some form of formal education after high school. However, even though being motivated is an excellent quality to have, obsessing over your grades and your future gets old really fast.
Let us give you some advice: You are going to be fine. Everything is going to be okay. Getting one bad grade on a test is not going to destroy your entire future, and the last thing you want to do is overexert yourself. So take a breath. Be proud of the work you’ve done, but when it’s time to lie down, lie down and don’t fight it. You’re going to fail, and that’s okay. In the words of Billy Joel, “Slow down, you’re doing fine/You can’t be everything you want to be before your time.”
Procrastinators: A new year and a new semester should be treated as a fresh start. Students receive a revised schedule, mixed with new teachers and classmates. Bad vibes, negative feelings, and all types of procrastination should be left with your former schedule.
With the arrival of a new semester, should come refreshed study habits, a healthy state of mind, and a strong work ethic. Our suggestion is to deeply bury all procrastination habits: set small goals. Major projects and exams may be daunting, though by taking small steps and creating daily or weekly goals, these obligations seem more reasonable.
