05/20/2021
Included in our Graduation Section of the George County Times this week - one Senior gives advice to the future freshmen class at GCHS.
Living Your Best High School Life
by Olivia Wachsman
During the first pep rally of the school year, the class of 2025 will stroll through the student lobby in their yellow “freshman official” T-shirts and take their places under the freshman banners in the gym. As ninth graders, these students will struggle with the decisions and obstacles all high schoolers must face, so in the hopes of making a success of these four years at George County High, here are a few pieces of advice.
The first piece of advice that every young adult needs to learn is to accept disappointments with grace. Every student will experience failure – not making the soccer team, not getting elected class president, suffering a public romantic break-up, or even something as simple as not getting classes with friends or favorite teachers. Learning to take these little defeats and move forward with poise is part of growing up into a mature adult.
Another fine piece of advice is to always be flexible. Having a “plan B” offers students a safety net in case “plan A” does not work out. Consider alternate classes that you can take in case your original classes are full. Always have someone to call in case your Friday night plans fall through, and perhaps most importantly, during your early high school years, find transportation options in case your parents do not come through or in case you do not get your permit on the first or even the second attempt. Being flexible allows students to have a more productive high school experience.
In your spare time, engage in meaningful community service that you enjoy – do not just sign up for Key Club or Interact Club because it is easy, convenient, and sounds good announced from the press box at homecoming. If you love music, volunteer to teach a music class to pre-school kids. If you love hanging out with your grandparents, earn service hours painting fingernails at a retirement facility or reading Eudora Welty stories to residents at an assisted living home. If you like to garden, volunteer with a city beautification project. You will never regret doing something that you are passionate about that helps others too.
Some practical guidance is to start keeping a resume’ immediately. A hard copy folder full of certificates will make those awards easily accessible when you are trying to remember all the awesome accomplishments you have made when you are a senior. An updated, typed list of honors and activities on the computer is even more serviceable when your senior year rolls around.
On a more personal note, look for the good in people, especially when it is so easy to find fault. People can act so ugly sometimes, and the challenge in life is trying to find something uniquely wonderful in even the sulkiest people. In regard to how you grow as a person, this final piece of wisdom is the most important.
Enjoy the next four years with your friends and family – before you realize it, these four years will be a memory, and you will once again be a freshman—you will just be standing on another campus.
