With four years of wisdom and a compassionate heart, Senior Sally answers questions and offers advice for students navigating high school. If you have a question you’d like her to consider, let us know.

Q: What’s the best way to set up your schedule?

A: Get your requirements out of the way.

For me, and many other upperclassmen that I have asked, the best way to set up your schedule is to make the required classes for graduation a priority. You want to do this so you can have a very easy and open junior and senior year schedule, which can allow you open blocks to do your homework, work more hours at your job, dual enroll a class, or to just have more fun with friends and spend less time at school. Open blocks or minis during sophomore year are overrated because you can’t leave the building anyways. Look at it this way, you can fill up your schedule for 2 ½ years of school and only have to take a minimum three classes senior year, or you can have useless open blocks sophomore year and have to spend most of your senior year in class. I don’t think most of you would prefer the latter.

Q: If you could, what would you change about your freshman year?

A: If there’s one thing I could change it would definitely be to become more involved with the school.

Freshman year was a trial and error year for me, as it may be for you. My biggest issue was being intimidated by the upperclassmen. They always appeared mean and stuck up to me (which some of them were but often times you just need to get to know them) and that scared me from attending any sporting events or wanting to try out for plays or sports. The honest truth is that middle school and high school are two surprisingly different settings. Middle school is a very confusing time because you’re just figuring out who you are and might be a bit scared to be different whereas in high school you can be anyone you want to be and it’s amazing! Plus, Central High School is going to be your home for four years and it is COMPLETELY up to you if you want to make a good or bad experience out of it. If I could be a freshman again I would’ve allowed myself to be comfortable with who I was and be less worried about what other people thought. I would’ve tried out for plays, gone to all the sporting events, dressed up in the wackiest costumes on dress up days and not been afraid to show my school spirit. Put yourself out there and you’ll be surprised at how much people will appreciate your unique personality! In a school as diverse and as welcoming as we are it would be a shame to be anyone other than yourself.

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Art work by Sydney Bitz