Freshman year– a time full of new experiences, new friends, school dances and big changes. It is an awkward time full of weird conversations, academic challenges, and the overwhelming feeling of stress. Although freshman year can feel intimidating, there are things you can do, and not do, to make your first year of high school go a little bit smoother.

 I have compiled a list of the whats and what nots of freshman year. The things I would have done differently and things I wish I had known before taking on the beast of high school.

1. Don’t be afraid to talk to anybody and everybody. It can be hard to separate yourself from a clique and intimidating to talk to people you don’t know. I’m not saying you’re going to like everybody you meet, but it can’t hurt to reach out to someone new.
2. Join a club, a sports team, or an extracurricular activity. It’s a lot easier than you may think to find people with similar interests. Community at Lincoln is important, and you could find some of your closest friends in an organized group.
3. Don’t start vaping in the bathroom. It’s not as cool as you think and it’s not worth getting busted by the school.
4. Go to assemblies, go to football games, support Lincoln teams, and have school spirit. Get over your ego and participate.
5. Use FLEX wisely. Flex is a time for meeting with your teachers, doing your work, making up assignments you may have missed. It’s really easy to do absolutely nothing productive during this time. I have personally wasted so much time during flex, and then later heavily regretted it.