Walking into this year I was sure that I had the right idea as to what junior year would be like for me. My thoughts were: “Oh this is going to be so easy”, “I’m almost done”, “Teachers are going to just give us easy grades because we are juniors”, “Football games are going to be so much more fun”, “This is going to be the easiest year yet”. Like most things we fantasize about in life, all my premeditated assumptions and plans turned out to be wrong. I was thoroughly disappointed in my junior year.
What most fail to understand about junior year is that, yes you are an upperclassman, but no you are not god. You can’t walk through the halls with elitist principles, because let’s face it you’re not a senior, and you still have two years left.
This year is time to cherish, especially because it’s the year of exploring. Councilors, parents, and peers will constantly hound you about college research and visits, deciding what you want to do with your life, deciding where you want to live, who you want to room with in college, if you even want to go to college, if you intend to take a gap year, if you want to graduate early. Breath. It’s ok to not know what you want to do going into your junior year, that’s what is so great about it. You have all year to explore and decide about what intrigues you. But don’t waste time by pushing this year aside as just a filler year, actually use the time for future planning and research, or you will find yourself lost and behind at the end.
A big misconception for incoming juniors is that the classes are so much easier. That is completely false, and whoever said that was the biggest liar of all time. This year is very hard work, and especially if you are choosing to take difficult classes. This year you will become open to hard AP classes and advanced leveled classes. A word of caution, not every AP class is worth taking and sometimes it’s just as good to take the standard class or no AP at all. At Elkhorn South it’s highly recommended to take as many AP’s as possible, but what I’ve learned is that it’s more than okay to take the regular class and value your time and mental health. It’s ok to take a different path than everyone else, and it’s ok to decide to take an easy class if it works better for you. Don’t feel pressured to take a hard class just because everyone else is. Chemistry is not a required class to graduate, so if you want something easier, take anatomy or AP biology. If you hate extra reading and don’t have a lot of free time, there is no shame in taking regular U.S. history. Taking different classes than everyone else doesn’t make you stupid, it makes you happier, by restoring control over your own life and schedule.
Your feet are never glued in place, let your own decisions guide you. Be the warden of your own life and thoughts. Allowing people to control how you live is no way of living. Don’t lock your mind up in the prison of other people’s expectations. It’s always acceptable to accept people’s experienced advice into your life, but don’t take every piece of advice as a step-by-step manual. Making your own mistakes is a part of growing, take this year as a time to learn from yourself and others, just don’t let others hold you back from being what you want to be.
Junior year was disappointing to me, I expected too much out of something I knew nothing about. Don’t fall into the same traps as I did, take this advice as a reality check for junior year, but like I said don’t let my advice lock you down. I hope that all new juniors are excited and ready for a fulfilling year.
