Dear Lil Freshies

     To the incoming Freshman class- hello. Welcome to the mixing pot of late nights and early mornings, procrastination, and the tidal waves of stress that makes up High School. It's not all that bad though; I mean I like to say I had a pretty good year, but I came into High School with these expectations that I was just going to buckle down and bang out A's and 4.0's like it was no big deal. This made for a very anxious mind, and I can't stress this enough: ANXIETY AND STRESS DOES NOTHING BUT INHIBIT SUCCESS. Whether it be grades, or even fitting in, worrying about something you can't even control yet is taking up your brain space! Fill your mind up with encouraging thoughts, as well as positive affirmations to keep you motivated and grounded- my favorite is "today's best today." Remember to take your school life day by day, because we all have good days and bad ones as well, and you can't let bad grades or rejection slow you down.  
     If I could tell little eighth grade me some advice, it'd be this: don't be afraid. Fear of acceptance and superiority made me want to change who I was at one point, and sometimes I really felt out of place. Whenever I walked through the halls, I felt like I wasn't supposed to be at WMHS. I hate to break it to you, but you have every right to be there. You belong in High School! I know, sometimes the fact that you're even in High School can throw you off, but you'll get used to it. These are your halls- in these halls you'll awkwardly drop books and disturb the flow of student body traffic, you'll sit on the benches outside of each wing before classes begin and try to finish last night's homework, you'll pretend you didn't see those two upperclassmen enjoying their PDA, and you'll try to find the longest possible route to take from one class to the other. Don't be afraid of the other students either. Turns out, all grades have their mix of people you'll end up meeting and becoming really close with. Don't be afraid to be yourself. If you want to wear your hair a different way than normally- do it. I always tell myself that nobody will go home and remember what you wore: everybody is worried about themselves. Be an individual, and love every second of it. Chances are, you probably will never talk to or see most of these people after High School, so don't be worried about embarrassing yourself. Don't be afraid of failure either. I know that college looms over you every time you even think about grades, but you can't wear down your mind like that. If it's 1 am and you have the choice to study or sleep, sleep. If you get a C or below on a test, don't go home and sit in bed for two hours listening to sad music. You can no longer control a bad grade, all you can do is use the negativity as leverage to prove to yourself you can bounce back. Don't obsess over grades either. I've learned that if it's late and I want to draw and take a breather, it's better to tend to your mental health and well being rather than being tied up in stress. It's all about balance- take care of your hobbies and your passions. You need to be okay in your head in order to excel in school.
     My biggest piece of advice for you guys is to just take care of yourself first. I know the stress will try to eat away at your head, but you can tell it to chill, for lack of a better phrase. Eat enough food, nourish your body, drink plenty of water and get plenty of sleep, exercise and treat yourself- do anything you feel would make you happy. Don't forget- you are living as well. Your whole life is not school. Well, good luck, and trust me, you'll have a pretty fun time at WMHS.