Senior Spotlight: 4 Years of Advice for Incoming High Schoolers
Senior Antonio Bell shows off his drip.
As time goes by, students find their own unique way of getting through their school years as best as they can. Their experience navigating through highschool allows them to gain wisdom. We all try to find the secret in what the most important things to do to succeed and graduate are. I interviewed a few of our Riley High School seniors about how they got through their high school years (especially during Covid), what their experience was like, and what advice they could share with rising students.
Many students think that transitioning into high school is an easy thing until it actually happens. Yes, the first year may be, as some would say, simple, but freshman year is the most important out of all four years. Upperclassmen have always told me, “Don’t slack off freshman year or any year really because nobody wants to retake classes.” Retaking classes is extra work that you can prevent from having to do.
For those who struggle with getting homework done, here’s an interesting way of fixing that problem. Senior Antonio Bell states, “When my friends and I do our homework, we would play a difficult game. Each time we lost we did a section of homework, but for every win we didn’t have to do the section. Usually we would lose because the game was hard, so we got our work done.” That’s a great way for gamers or anyone to get things done while having fun. Another idea is to do tutoring or ask people for help from those who are capable of doing so; I recommend those who won't distract you from the work and will actually be able to aid in your work.
Senior Ashton Bruce is ready to take on the rest of his senior year!
We all know that the 2020-2021 school year was rough, which led to plenty of students having low grades and little motivation. “After Covid hit, I had all Fs,” said Bell. That year was difficult for me as well. I even emailed my teachers telling them how unmotivated and hard it was to get anything done learning online. No other senior class has to deal with so much covid interruption.
However, even though our seniors have been through a lot these last three years, senior Skylar Finch has a brighter view on her school experience. I asked some students the question, what do you think is the best part of high school? “The best part about highschool is learning something new and seeing my friends,” Finch responded. Bell added, “Geometry sophomore year, gym for my freshman year, junior year nothing because Covid hit, and now it’s language arts labs.” Senior Ashton Bruce also weighed in on his favorite parts, with a different take: “I just went with the flow, I don’t have a favorite part.” There's nothing wrong with going with the flow and relaxing, Ashton!
Even though high school can bring us down sometimes, we can always get back up and do better than before. Let’s all appreciate the struggles we have faced and got through, because without them, we wouldn’t be as strong as we are now. Thank you to the students and staff who have helped me and others with work and trying to motivate us.
You can find senior Skylar Finch in the library most days, helping our librarian Mrs. Golubski.
