As high schoolers rush to get to class, a mix of feelings swarm the halls: excitement, anxiety, contentment, and (what some may relate to) the on growing knowledge that this year is actually happening. As much as there are good things that happen in this building many call high school, things can also be hard sometimes, and may leave some unable to handle the weight of it all. According to Junior, Genevieve Wilson, procrastination as well as other learning habits are a leading factory into many school work and social dilemmas.

  “For starters, do not procrastinate. The most common complaint from kids is that I have too much homework, I can’t do this, and I get it. There’s a lot of homework. If it’s due on the third day, do it on the first day. You’ll get it done, because by the time you reach that third day you’re going to have something that’s due the next day, and you’re not going to have time to do it. Second off, a common thing I’ve heard a lot of people say, which actually disappoints me, is that people say I don’t do my homework. Do your homework. I get that people say that homework is useless to me, I already know the concept, I can pass the test… If you look through it though, that homework is gonna mirror almost exactly what will be on your test. So if you just do the problems on the homework and work through, this is especially for math, the way to pass the test is to do the homework. It’ll work, you’ll have time for social stuff on the weekends, trust me, it will not take you two full days to get your homework done, just do your homework,” Wilson said.

As much as school work plays a big factor in one’s life, socializing and creating bonds as well as knowing the do’s and don’ts of high school dating can be just as meaningful in wanting to know and connect to other people with the same interests.

“If you are dating someone and you go to school with them, don’t have excessive PDA. I know that’s something people always say, but don’t do it because one, it’s probably not healthy for your relationship, and two, nobody else really wants to watch it and three, you’re probably going to see that person in less than an hour, so to make out in the hallway with them is kind of unnecessary. It’s like everybody is seeing your intimacy and I think that’s something you should share a little bit more into yourselves. Be involved with your significant other, go do things, go support football games, and go be in a club together because that’s something you can share. Take everyday for what it’s worth. I’m a girl, so high school boys are kind of goofy sometimes and high school girls are goofy too, but don’t when things end with them, whether they’re good or bad, don’t get caught up on it,” junior Alorah Jones said.

Dating and making new friends can open up people to experiences, but there are always those things everyone secretly wants to do before they graduate, embarrassing or not.

“I would like to try and slide down one of the banisters. It sounds so dangerous and I wouldn’t do it for the fear of falling because knowing me and that I have no balance whatsoever, I would fall, but in a hypothetical world that we’re talking right now, I would like to slide down one of the banisters,” Wilson said.

“I was going to say walk on the roof, but I feel like I could probably do that by the time I graduate,” Jones said.

“Probably keeping drinks and stuff at my locker, because I did it but it was frowned upon,” sophomore Dan King said.

Whether or not high school seems great, this year will happen in spite of what others want. Remembering to “wear pink on Wednesdays” can be hard (Mean Girls), but it is not as bad as it seems. As recorded by high schoolers, things to watch out for/ not experience this year include:

“Don’t crowd the stairway, people have classes to get to, don’t just…move,”  King said.

“I guess I just want everything to run smoothly for my junior year, cause I know that it’s one of the hardest years during high school. I’m in hard classes this year, so trying to keep up with school work, so I don’t get behind and to be able to get everything and to balance everything,” Jones said.

“I don’t want to fail so miserably that I drop out of high school and become a hobo on the street. I mean nothing against hobos, but I…that’s not my life. I respect the hobos, it’s just not for me,”  Wilson said.

There are a lot of different things that can make high school seem scary, but looking on the bright side or finding people to talk about things with can help.

“We’re all wondering through this massive void we call high school together, and although sometimes it seems deep, and sometimes it seems dark, and sometimes it seems stressful, you are never alone because somebody here will always care. You are not useless, someone always has time for you, so don’t give up,”  Wilson said.