Your Work, On Campus And At Home, Is Important. Grades are so important, and colleges start to look at your grades from freshman year. Just because it’s your first year doesn’t mean you have it easy. Even if you decide you don’t want to go to college or to a university, employers look at your skill set for a post-secondary job. Pay attention to what you are doing in high school – it follows you.

Not Everyone Is Going To Like You. You were cool in elementary. Maybe even more awesome in junior high. But you’re in a school that holds 3,000 students. It’s not something to really be worried about. Being cool or being liked isn’t important in high school; just as long as you’re being true to who you are and you’re being yourself people, will accept you.

Value Your Friendships. They will help you get through those rough times adolescence brings. Learn to open up to people. Try to meet new people. There might be someone who needs a friend or someone who needs someone to talk to, just like you might also need.

Don’t Simply Date Anyone. Some people are not the greatest. Take the time to think about the qualities you want, the qualities they have, and see if they match. Don’t jump from person to person – that starts to give you a bad reputation and nobody wants.

Be Careful With Your Personal Life Outside Of School. Don’t let peer pressure affect you. Drugs and alcohol will most likely lead you down the wrong path, and nobody wants to start high school off on the wrong path. It’ll just put you in horrible situations and that stuff can lead to major consequences. Just remember… be smart.

Careful With Social Media. Let’s face it… we are in high school. People talk. Make sure to think twice before posting pictures on Instagram, tweeting something offensive, or posting on Facebook. Things you put on the internet stays on their forever even if you think it’s deleted.

Think About Post Judson. Don’t freak yourself out worrying about it though. I am more than positive when you’re 24 you might still be unsure of what you want in life but be happy. Just make sure you have a plan after high school – don’t graduate without a plan, and stay focus.

Love Your Parents. When your parents start driving you up the wall with rules, curfews and nagging, try to remember that they’re doing it because they care. It sounds cliché, but they really do know where you’re coming from. It wasn’t that long ago that they were in high school, even though times have changed. Talk to them and let them know that you need to be able to open up to them.

Appreciate Yourself. Learn how great of a person you are. You don’t need to change for anyone because you’re perfect exactly the way you are. Nobody should be able to change that. It’s that simple.

High School Is A Lot of Fun. You will have some of the best times of your life at Judson High School.. Enjoy it. Have fun. Be safe. Remember why you’re in school in the first place. Join a club. Get involved with sports. Make some new friends. These 4 years are the ones that define the rest of your life and determine what you will do in the future.