By Russell Omo

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This new school year has brought a new set of freshmen who, understandably, are not fully acclimated to the high school environment. As for every student who has stepped on this campus for their first time, it’s a year of confusion and intimidation by older students. However, Class of 2017, this first step into your high school career isn’t as hard as you would think; it only takes a few tasks to make your freshman year one to remember.

As I walk around the school grounds, it’s a rarity to see a freshman sitting with an upperclassman at a table. For the students, high school is more of a meeting place, a usual spot where bonds are created and strengthened. It’s perfectly fine to have friends within your graduating class, but having only those friends is committing an injustice to yourself. There are over 2,600 students at MHS, so there’s bound to be someone who shares your interests or someone who is simply fun to be around.

I look back to my freshman year and realize I never spoke to any upperclassmen, despite my classes being filled with them. Truth be told, I was intimidated and my physical appearance reflected that. Before I knew it, the whole year passed by and the seniors whose names that I couldn’t even remember graduated, and vanished from my life. I thought my sophomore year would be different and I would get to know some of the upperclassmen in my classes. I was wrong. The reason was that I always expected to be confronted and never the confronter and because of that, I spent my time in class as a loner, with no one to talk to. Don’t be afraid to say “hello”; you’d be surprised how far that simple word will get you.

However, it’s important to remember that high school is still a learning institution. There is a sense of freedom as you walk school grounds migrating from class to class, but at the same time the gravity of your future presses on your shoulders. Soon that gravity turns your freedom into self-restriction. Don’t let that gravity crush you, but at the same time, don’t ignore it. You are still at the prime of your youth, but the grades you receive are permanent and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Know your limits, but understand your goals.

Some of you will realize that one of your goals is to get into the college of your choice, which is no simple feat. Colleges are very selective when it comes to students and competition is fierce. In order to achieve their goal, students push themselves through their studies, take the most difficult classes and join as many extracurricular activities as possible. Some can make this lifestyle workable, even crave the intensity that comes with it. However, most are unable to handle such a load, yet still attempt to sacrifice their own youth for the sake of getting into that college.

Youth is finite. In your days after graduation, you don’t want to remember your freshman year, or any year for that matter, as a barrage of stressful studying where the thoughts of what could have been plague you. Your days in high school are your last chance to be young before reality sets in.

But don’t worry. This is merely the beginning of your high school experience, so take your time and remember to breathe every now and then. But most of all, enjoy your freshman year.