Whenever I meet incoming high school freshman I tell them that there are two fundamental keys to having a successful high school career. These tips are also applicable to each task and goal that any individual wants to endeavor, be it completing high school, college, getting straight A’s, making a sports team, or acquiring a new set of life skills. In my experience the two critical elements of success that every incoming high school freshmen needs to obtain is diligence, as well as efficient time management. When the word “diligence” is mentioned people often think of hard work. While working hard in school is important, diligence goes beyond that; diligence requires not only hard work, but consistent effort on the part of the student. With a plethora of subjects that students have to take in high school, there is bound to be at least one course that an individual may dislike. Students may also run into other obstacles like having a teacher or coach that is difficult to get along with. This is also an important concept to grasp for adult life; in our lives we are going to have to do things and/or deal with people that may not be pleasing or enjoyable. I must stress that an important part of having diligence is putting aside your frustration and learning to work through your trials in order to emerge successful by the end of each course.
The second factor to success is the ability to wisely manage one’s time. In my high school career I played year-round varsity sports and graduated summa cum laude with college credit under my belt. Looking back I know I could never have accomplished this without the distinct ability to properly manage my time. This concept is simple in thought but difficult in execution. Simply put, my advice to any new freshman would be this: drop all of your bad habits. Instead of playing video games right when you get home from school, complete your homework first. Pay attention in class and be assiduous when taking notes. Some days you are going to falter, but the idea here is to consistently make the most out of all of your spare time. That is not to say that any time spent leisurely is bad, rather, at the end of the day it is important for one to remember that their schooling is the most important aspect of their current life. So to all I say be diligent and do not squander your time thoughtlessly. Acquire these traits now in your high school career, because you will need them as well later in your college and adult life.
