The best advice that I can give to all of the rising freshmen is to make the most of next year.

When you come to the Upper School, you have more freedom, and control over how you spend your time. The responsibility to manage schoolwork falls on you; teachers provide helpful recommendations, but they will not chase you around, and beg you to submit the assignment. Furthermore, there are not really a ton of second chances in the Upper School, which means if you want to achieve something, you have to work for it. Although this may sound daunting, if you stay on top of work and meet with teachers outside of class (which you can easily do during the daily “Co-Lab” times that give students a chance to get extra help), you will not have anything to worry about.

In addition to having more independence, there are many activities in the Upper School that you have an opportunity to become, (or continue to be) involved in, such as sports, clubs, and theater. Participating in these activities is something that I encourage you to do even if you only have a small interest in doing them, because you may really love what you get to do in a certain club, and make new friends who have similar interests. Additionally, if you do end up signing up for a club and later realize that you do not like it, you can simply drop it, making signing up for a club a very low-risk, and high-reward decision.

To close, your freshman year will ultimately be what you make of it, and that can involve little to many clubs and other activities. However, from my experience, making the most of your freshman year entails challenging yourself, and taking on new experiences that pique your interest. After all, you are only a freshman once, and it goes by faster than you can imagine, so do not be afraid to try new things.