I titled this column, “Sam’s advice to underclassmen” because, although freshman need the most help, the sophomores aren’t much better. 

Walking in the halls

Being an underclassman is an intimidating thing. I recall when I was a freshman I would never want to walk alone or make eye contact with people, and I always kept my head buried in my phone in the halls. 

This brings me to my first point, that when underclassmen are constantly on their phones, they don’t realize the build-up they are causing by walking slowly. How often I have been stuck behind these giant backpacks, that are moving less than a mile an hour, is absurd. The passing periods are for three things: getting to your next class, saying hi to your buddies you happen to see, and seeing couples make out in the hallway. Not for underclassmen to cause a logjam for those trying not to be late for their next class. Keep moving and be courteous to the people walking behind you.

Grades

Freshman and sophomore year almost screwed me over when it came to applying to college. People always warned me that I needed to do well in my first years of high school, and I completely blew it off. My poor GPA made my junior year beyond stressful; late nights and tutors filled my weeks, and the grind to raise my GPA came during the hardest year in high school. Junior year is the year that you have ACT’s, SAT’s, and the last push before you start applying to colleges. The workload is immense, considering the studying you do for the ACT/SAT along with your everyday school schedule really piles up. So do the best you can in the first two years because your cumulative GPA is what matters. You may believe this is far fetched, but I can’t stress to you enough how important the first two years are when it comes to your college search. 

Don’t be that guy

Whatever you do in class, do not be the guy that is the “class clown.” In my years at this high school, I have witnessed several people get in trouble with the teachers in an attempt to get a laugh. Although a good joke here and there is always nice. When someone is disrupting the class and frustrating the teacher to try to be funny it’s honestly embarrassing. The begging for attention is the thing that makes me laugh the most. Also what people don’t realize is the disrespect that comes with it. No, my teacher didn’t pay me to say this, but you should respect your teachers. Given the fact that they are the people who give you your final grade in the class, you also need to look at it from their perspective. Imagine you were giving a presentation and every five minutes somebody interrupts your speech and completely disregards all the work you put into the presentation. Just like if if you showed up with your presentation, they show up to class with the material for you to learn and are presenting the class with what they need to do well in the class. If you don’t want to listen, fine don’t listen, but don’t disrespect the teachers and distract your fellow students.

Sporting events

First and foremost, it is not uncool to show school spirit. When at sporting events,  you are there to support your friends and classmates, so don’t just be on your phone. Participate in chants, cheers, and booing the other team, because why even go to the games if you aren’t going to. It is also cool to go to other sporting events besides football and basketball games. Go support the kids on the swim team or the dance team, and other sports that don’t naturally draw big audiences. Along with sports, school plays are always impressive. They put a lot of time and effort into the performances and you should go and recognize the effort by attending. Just bring a couple of friends and enjoy the show!

School Dances

There are only so many dances throughout your high school career. Attend as many as you can, they are everlasting memories that you will cherish when you graduate, but when you go, do it right. If you don’t leave the dance drenched head to toe in sweat, so much so that your date doesn’t even want to get near you, you aren’t doing it right. When you walk into the gym, the first place you should go is the middle of the dance floor. Go jump around like crazy and dance until you can’t anymore. The dance may be considered “boring” by those who don’t participate in the dancing. The ones who stand around the perimeter of the dance floor because they are too cool to dance. 

Take it from me

If I went back in time with this information given to me, I would have done high school very differently. Take it from a guy with many imperfections and flaws to tell you his mistakes and learn from them.

Thank you for tuning in. Next issue, I will be giving advice to the junior class.