Things Seniors Wish They Knew as Freshmen
Words of advice from Northview's class of 2026
Design by Claire Wang and Isha Patel
Claire Wang, Managing Editor & Isha Patel, Staff Writer
Freshman year often feels stressful. Every decision seems like it has to be perfect. Academic rigor increases and social pressure escalates. By senior year, that perspective changes completely. With graduation coming up, seniors look back on the past four years and reflect on their highlights and lowlights. Four years of classes, clubs, and relationships have gifted them with a whole different outlook that can be hard to see in the beginning. Take a look at what some seniors said when asked what advice they wished they had known as freshmen.
Aarna Vachan
“Plan out your schedule freshman year—even your eighth grade summer—so you know exactly what you want to take all four years of high school. I would recommend looking at the course catalog beforehand as well.”
Aashritha Battu
“Don't compare yourself to people academically, socially, or with your extracurriculars. I feel like that mindset can get so insidious and it's so hard to get rid of after it gets implanted in your mind, especially when you become a senior and college application season rolls around. That mindset really just cripples your confidence and self-esteem. Also, have fun! I swear, in high school, people do all this stuff for the sole reason of getting into college. Colleges can tell when you have an actual personality in the things that you do, so have fun with it and don't be afraid to experiment! Don't go all stem or all arts. People think that they have to have this one track mind to get the major that they want, but just experiment. Find out what you like.”
Abbey Hankinson
“Get involved with as much stuff as you can freshman year just to try things out. You don't have to stick with everything you sign up for, but just try and figure out your interests and what you like early.”
Alyssa Cuellar
“I wish that I would have known as a freshman to actually care about my grades freshman year. I also wish I knew to build good habits, whether it's studying, motivation, or just mental health in general. I think knowing those things would have set me on the path to being a better student in my later years of high school.”
Amelia Windham
“As a freshman, I wish I had known that not everything is black and white. There's always more to the story than you might know and everybody has something going on. Not everything's personal.”
Anna Haynie
“Try harder in all your classes, especially honors classes. Try to create good studying habits as a freshman so that you can carry them throughout your high school career. Just try not to slack off.”
Annabella Shenoy
“In my freshman year, I made a four year plan of every single class I wanted to take based on the major I wanted to do in college and I've taken almost every single one of those. Just use the Northview course catalog, see what the prerequisites for the classes you want to take are, and take all those.”
Aryesh Musalgaonkar
“Always live in the moment. Sometimes you're just gonna have to say six or seven because the opportunity awaits. I used to have this young friend of mine—currently not with us—and he used to always say that you can’t add days to your life, but you can add life to your days by living in the moment.”
Asher Nam
“Studying is overrated. You should just stay home and play Valorant.”
Ashton Tan
“You just gotta live life. You’ve got to go to every function and have fun because it goes by super fast. So just make friends, hang out with them, but also study.”
Austin Johnson
“My advice to freshmen is to learn how to get around the school and what to do. Also, when I was playing football, I wish I had paid better attention to my coach.”
Ava Jessel
“I wish I would have taken AP history classes because they're an easy way to get your AP count up. I didn't take them because I thought they'd be really hard, but it turns out they're not. I could have just gotten more AP credits from them.”
Avery Wilson
“Try out for a team, even if you don't think you’ll get in. I joined the swim team and it was one of the best decisions of my high school career.”
Awele Ikpa
“I wish I knew to maintain an A/B average instead of an A/B/C average. I thought it wouldn't affect my GPA because I was passing, but it affects it heavily. Last semester was the first semester I ever maintained an A/B average, and it brought my GPA up. Maintain it or you're going to have a low GPA, and that’s embarrassing. Also, enjoy your senior year. It's going to be fun, but you’ve got to lock in your junior year or you’re going to cry.”
Chene Camp
“I wish I knew more about dual enrollment because they didn't really introduce that to us until tenth grade. If I’d have known about it ahead of time, I would have started early on and looked into the classes available to me more. That way I could have gotten a lot more course credits for college instead of just randomly picking dual enrollment classes.”
Chizitelu Nsoedo
“Try to enjoy school and don't skip too much.”
Claire Zhou
“AP Lit is the best class. Take AP Lit.”
David Donnelly
“I would have told my freshman year self to stay involved in the same activities I was in so that I could build a lasting reputation in that activity. I wish I’d stayed with some more stuff and had dedicated extracurriculars.”
Ella Kupfer
“As a freshman, I wish I’d taken advantage of more opportunities I had or could’ve made for myself. Just joining more clubs and getting involved in more things. I was very involved in sports, but I wasn't involved in some of the clubs that I am now, and I wish I’d started that as a freshman. Joining as a freshman allows you to meet more people and be further involved, which puts you in a better position to gain leadership positions.”
Emily Jane Kennedy
“Don't spend so much time worrying about things, because worrying doesn't do anything for you. It just ends up hurting you. I think it’s best to just trust yourself, try your best, and don't worry too much about it.”
Emmanuel Kapwadi
“I wish I knew to put all of my extracurriculars for the semester on a calendar so I know when they overlap and how to plan for that.”
Isaac Adegbenro
“I wish I knew how to plan ahead. Learn how to plan for your future.”
Ishi Cumer
“You don't need to take five AP classes per year. Nobody cares that much. You're still a child, take it slow. Enjoy yourself. You're not going to be a child again.”
Jaye Jones
“Make sure to keep your grades up, because when you're in junior year, it's going to be really hard to get your GPA up to where you want it to be.”
Jaynen Moreau
“I wish I knew that I should have started college prep way earlier, especially my FAFSA and choosing which colleges I was going to apply to. Senior year is fun, but make sure to work hard.”
Joshua Bertrand
“Take all of your virtual days. Be very judicious. Do not skip willy nilly like some of your lesser peers. Be wise about it. I was inspired by the great Riley Shen; she missed so much of our chemistry class together in sophomore year by taking the full value and opportunity out of her virtual days. There's a pool on the roof. Take PE because you can use the weightlifting gym. Take advantage of demographics. I was a diversity hire for mock trial when I joined in my junior year. It was all Chinese and Indian girls. I'm half white, half asian, but I’m a guy. Same thing with theater. They have so many girls. If you're a guy, you can just walk in there and they'll give you any part you want. It's like walking into a candy store.”
Kaylib Tyson
“I wish I knew to write down all my assignments beforehand so I don't forget about them and I don't have any late assignments.”
Keely McGahee
“Do not dual enroll for accounting.”
Lily Meier
“I would tell my freshman self to take as many dual enrollment classes as I could—whether it's junior or senior year—and to take as many high school classes in the summer as possible.”
Lukas Lee
“You should buzz your head at least twice in high school.”
Mallory Hatmaker
“Hurt people hurt people. It might sound generic, but if someone does something to you—if they gossip about you, say something rude, shove you, or look at you weird—it's usually not about you or a reflection on your character. It's usually because they're hurting or there's something going on. If you just understand and digest that, that gives you enough time to cool off and look at the situation better. Don't jump on the first thing you hear because oftentimes it's just a misunderstanding. It could have been taken out of context or misconstrued. Keep things cool and directly talk with that person. Shout out to theater for teaching me this. Also, when you're in elementary school and middle school, people will tell you that you're wired one way or another. Entering high school, get rid of all of that. Don't just accept that you’re more ‘math-brained’ or ‘science-brained’, or that you’re athletic so you can’t be smart. Don't accept stereotypes because it will hold you back from learning things. Try as many things as you can and forget any expectations people hold to you that are based on stereotypes.”
Mary Hawranko
“One thing I wish I knew as a freshman is to genuinely not care about what other people think and also to not get FOMO. You're gonna go through so many friendships and phases in your life, and throughout them you're gonna learn so many things. You're gonna learn what you like and who you want to be friends with. Once that all connects, you're not gonna care anymore. At the end of the day, if your friends don't include you, they don't care about you, so move on with your life. And also, just be yourself. No one actually cares. You think people care for the first three years of high school, but they literally don't. I was dancing in zoology class yesterday. No one cared. So be yourself.”
Michelle Park
“Take advantage of dual enrollment opportunities. I didn't know they were an option as a freshman, and I could only do it when I discovered it junior year. You're basically knocking out an entire year in one semester.”
Miki Lin
“I wish I took more extracurriculars as a freshman so that I could stick it out with one specific activity that I liked throughout all of high school and use it on my college application. Also, be really involved in your activities. What I did was for two summers, I went overseas and I taught English to kids in Taiwan. That earned me around 300 volunteer hours. Basically, don’t bum around. Just do stuff.”
Mishka Bahl
“Course rigor means nothing if you don't keep your GPA up, so don't overextend yourself if you know you're not going to be able to sustain it. Good luck.”
Myjoi Williams
“Have somebody to look up to and to guide you through high school. I did not have that and I had to go through high school all by myself. This year there’s a program called the Big Little Program, and I 100% advise for every single incoming freshman and sophomore to join.”
Olivia Chang
“Mr. Tanner is nice if you aren't stupid. Don't be stupid in his class.”
Raina Jain
“Don’t get peer pressured by everyone around you. Northview is such a competitive school. Everyone around you might be taking 6 AP courses as a sophomore and you might feel the need to take more AP courses to fit in, but people can ruin their GPA by doing that. Take strong classes that actually fit you. Also, I wish people explored more classes that actually interest them and benefit their future careers. Another thing is to start prepping for standardized tests earlier on. People usually do it during their junior year, but that's already a very stressful time, so start earlier. The last thing I would say is to just have fun. We always forget to live in the moment because we're so worried about the future, but at the end of the day, we're going to end up where we're supposed to.”
Rebecca Portillo
“Get a job! Make money! I did not get a job until the second semester of junior year and I wish I’d gotten one sooner. You are going to be so grateful when you're a senior and you look in your bank account and you actually have money. Also, make sure you're moving the money to your savings account. When you're in college on your own and your parents aren't funding everything anymore, you’ll have $5,000 for yourself, for your college dorm, for food to go out with your friends, and for textbooks. Get a job right now, move money to savings, don't place more than $100 in your spending money, and save your money for college. Lastly, find a best friend like Mary Hawranko and stay whimsical.”
Savannah Anderson
“High school is temporary. Don't get too caught up in it and think that it's your whole world. It's four years and it goes by fast. Whether it’s a grade or a friendship, it's literally a speck in your whole entire life. It's not that deep. It'll come to pass one day, and you'll look back and see it was never as big of a deal as you made it out to be.”
Sora Kamata
“Try things that scare you a little. Join clubs alone and apply for that leadership position.”
Tarin Belizaire
“I wish I knew that in AP classes, I don't have to be as perfect as in on-level and honors classes. I could have taken more AP classes if I’d known that. ”
Vanessa Chang
“Take dual enrollment instead of AP classes so you get college credit automatically.”
Zara Duque Vasquez
“Don’t ever use the restrooms during lunch.”
