Dear Class of 2023,

Welcome to high school! Many of you are either very excited to finally have some freedom while others are very nervous based on all the rumors they have heard from the seniors and siblings. Well, here's an open letter to all those upcoming freshmen who need advice that I wish someone could have told me.

Everything doesn't look like the movies; reality is different.

High School Musical makes you feel like high school is absolutely fun and amazing; however, it isn't. We don't sing on the top of the tables in the cafeteria. You are able to meet people that are very similar to you and people that you hate from the start. See, the thing about high school is that many of your friends come and go. But, when senior year comes by, you will have the friends that are literally the medicine to your headache everyday. Your friends are those who you can't imagine school without them. So, find your group of friends that make you feel like that.

Everything is worth it at the end.

Every failed test and every tear you shed makes you stronger. I promise you that sometimes things seem complicated and impossible but you will get through this! Everything in this pathway is just simply a speed bump that comes and goes away.

Use your time wisely.

You guys are freshmen, so give it your all now before you struggle junior year when you have 5 different AP classes and your GPA sucks. I made this mistake and took freshman year lightly when I should have actually taken it seriously.

Graduation seems far, but time flies faster than you can ever imagine.

Please also live your life in high school. Go out with your friends to movies and concerts. I have learned this the hard way, and my friends and I definitely regret it now. Don't make the same mistake as us!

Don't be scared.

It's okay to be nervous on your first day of school. I know it's a new place, and new friends can be intimidating. Don't be scared to try out for a club officer or a team try-out. Be more involved in clubs as a freshman to help you have more extra activities, which will come in handy when you make your first résumé.

You will accomplish so much in high school, so enjoy every moment of it. Enjoy it, while you take it seriously, too. Because as you become a sophomore, a junior, and a senior, it gets a slight bit harder to have fun all the time. And in senior year, you will find yourself applying to colleges. Then, the next thing you know, you're in college.

So go explore high school, go to the football games, and cheer for your school, even if the team sucks. You will be a senior before you know it, so enjoy high school before it's too late. Don't worry you will make it through all the difficulties you face in high school!

Love,

A Trustable Senior