To My Little Sister,

When I was in middle school, I only dreamed about going to high school. To me, high school looked like the ultimate playground. I thought high school outside of actual school was all about going to crazy house parties and driving to Denny’s at three in the morning, and finding the perfect boyfriend. I thought high school was taking silly photos with your friends—the kind that end up in the bottom of your drawers, get forgotten about, and aren’t remembered until fifteen years later.

Surprise: The above description is not high school.

If I could compare high school to a zoo, I would, and here’s how it’s set up.

As a freshman, you’re a turtle. You will mainly hide in your shell, and you will probably only socialize with other freshmen. The seniors, the boys in particular, will seem big and scary to you. They’re probably about 1.5 feet taller than you, they have deep voices, and they look like they could rip your bones off in a matter of three seconds, but trust me, they won’t do that. Don’t be scared to walk by the lockers, be around the senior area, or walk by the seniors—I promise they won’t harm you.

As a sophomore, you’ll become a deer. You’ll start to come out of your shell, you’ll know the ropes of high school, and you’ll definitely be more comfortable. However, if something does go wrong for whatever reason, you’ll become deer-like, caught in headlights. I hope at this point you’ll be a part of at least two clubs because high school is the time you have to find your passions and build on them.

You’re halfway through high school, and now you’re a dog. You will definitely feel very comfortable talking to anyone, and you know exactly how everything in high school works. Junior year is definitely the most academically demanding, so you will be working like a dog. Junior year is the time you start planning for your future. You’ll take your SATs and ACTs, you’ll visit colleges, and you’ll start planning on where you would like to apply. I suggest you befriend seniors because you’ll be able to ask them questions and watch them go through the college application process before you go through it yourself next year.

You never thought you’d be here, but you are finally a senior. This year, everybody files into a different animal group, almost paralleling the college matriculation. The majority of the girls will live in a beehive and fight to be the Queen Bee. There are additional animal groups too, snakes and sharks. The snakes slither around and make up rumors all so sneakily while the sharks eat anything in their way, even if it means taking advantage of other people. My advice is to be a horse. Go along your merry way, pull your workload, and keep your eye on the prize.

Your first day is approaching fast, and I know you’re feeling a whirlwind of emotions. One minute you’re excited, the next minute you’re anxious. I’ve been there. Just remember, you’re not the only one who is feeling this way. These next four years go fast. You don’t believe me now, and you won’t until you’re the senior and you look back on your high school years. For now, cherish the people around you because they won’t be there forever. Work hard, but also play hard. You’re just getting off the ground, and soon enough you’ll be college bound. Somehow high school is both the best and worst place you’ll ever be, so enjoy it. Your personal experience may not live up to your expectations, but you can take the memories and the friendships onto your next destination in life, which may or may not be an amusement park.

Best wishes,

Your Big Sister