You Only Have Four Years by Hannah

You Only Have Four Years by Hannah - November 2014 Scholarship Essay

You're nervous. You step off the big yellow bus. Taylor Swift’s song, “Fifteen”, is playing in your head as “you take a deep breath and you walk through the doors. It's the morning of your very first day… It’s your freshman year and you’re gonna be here,” whether you like it or not, “for the next four years in this town." As you have already heard, freshman year can really make or break your high school career. So what should you do? My best piece of advice for you is to get involved! Get involved in your school and community. Participate in a club, join a sports team, volunteer, go to school events, and most importantly go support your fellow classmates. Find something you can be passionate about and go with it. You only have four years here, so make of it what you can and have fun!

Schools have a lot of different clubs. Find a club that you are interested in. Your school may be able to accommodate some of your hobbies and interests as in chess and gaming clubs, culture-enriching clubs, drama and theater clubs, and foreign language clubs. You may also find interest in academic organizations such as Science Olympiad. There are also clubs that focus on volunteering, which is rewarding in itself because you can really make a difference in someone’s life. Regardless of which club you decide to join, a major benefit to being in one is that you will get the chance to meet some upperclassmen. Do not underestimate this opportunity! In my experience, being friends with upperclassmen is a major benefit. For one, they can drive. Also, they will make your freshman year a lot easier and enjoyable.

Along with being in clubs, you may find that you want to play sports. If you weren't involved in sports in middle school, try out for a team now. Being on a team is very rewarding in that it will help you build lasting friendships, learn how to communicate and work with others, and provide fun and memorable experiences. Being on a team can be so much fun because of the camaraderie it provides.

Camaraderie can also be found in the student section of said sporting events. Grab some friends and support your team. This will make for a fun time as a fan, and as an athlete I find it very motivating to have that kind of encouragement. It’s very important to support your fellow classmates. This doesn’t always pertain to sporting events. You can go watch a school play or help a club in their fundraising for a cause. Being a senior, I was able to help pick the themes for our football games, which made the games a lot of fun and more memorable. Remember that you aren’t too cool for anything, so go crazy at the games because you only get four years of them.

You’re also not too cool for school events! People and pop culture might try to tell you that school dances aren’t fun and that you shouldn’t waste your money on them, but you shouldn’t listen to these people! You won’t know unless you go. Go have fun and make the most out of it because, like I’ve been saying, you only have four years to do all of these things.

Pop culture often portrays high school as a miserable experience, but it doesn’t have to be. A lot of the “miserable” kids are those that don’t have any involvement or investment in their school. There’s something for everyone so take your freshman year to explore your interests and get involved in something that you will enjoy. Being a part of something bigger than yourself will be very rewarding for you. You will make lasting friendships, acquire valuable skills, and you’ll have fun at the same time. With this advice in mind, “take a deep breath as you walk through the doors” and enjoy your high school years and make lots of memories because before you know it they’ll be over!