Dear Freshmen,

I know that these first few weeks must have been so stressful for you. The transition from middle school to high school is notoriously difficult, and for goodness sake, you’ve already had three whole math assignments this month. That’s, like, higher than you could even count back in middle school.

High school has been a fantastic experience for me, and I sincerely hope it will be great for you too. To be honest, I wish I could soak in the innocent bliss of being a freshman. Not to further discourage you, but school only gets harder from here. But if you learn to manage school work, you can start to have fun with sports, extracurriculars and school in general. Now, before you keep reading this letter, let me warn you: this will not contain advice like “manage your time” and “be yourself,” so if that’s what you are looking for, just look in “Seventeen” magazine or ask your parents for their advice. Although not every piece of advice within this letter will apply to everyone, as you read, you will know who you are. This letter will contain advice from my fellow classmates and me and will help you fuse well into the school’s environment.

1. You may hear someone utter “freshmen, they are so annoying,” don’t take it personally. You are annoying and that’s ok. That’s just how freshmen are in general. We were all freshmen at one point and were consequently all annoying at a point in time.
2. Don’t use the excuse “I don’t have any time” in order to turn down an opportunity. Complaining to an upperclassmen about how you have “no time” to watch the soccer game after school because you have a worksheet for English will only probe them to talk about how they have to do two practice SAT tests, write a five page paper, work on their Extended Essay, and study for a physics test the next day that is 40 percent of their semester grade. Then you are going to feel stupid. Get involved while you can and do something with the rest of your day!
3. Don’t block the hallways. Hallways are meant for walking, not congregating. Move on the right side of the road, like you would in a car. If you don’t, I, like a much larger car, will run you off the road. Once you start moving with the flow of traffic, you, and other students, will be able to get to class on time and with ease.
4. Similarly to blocking the hallways, don’t snog in the hallways. Nobody wants to see it, it’s gross, and again, nobody wants to see it. To me, appropriate behavior in the hallway follows a simple rule: if you would be comfortable doing it in front of your parents, then you should be fine doing it at school.
5. All you need to know about love is included in Taylor Swift’s song “Fifteen.” Don’t get involved with someone too fast, and please don’t say you are in love a week into the relationship. You aren’t even allowed to drive yet, so how are you supposed to know if they are “the one”?
6. My last piece of advice is the smallest, but maybe the most important. Wear deodorant. Please. You are all  going through something called puberty (or will soon), and this state begs for deodorant. Some of you have already learned this. Smelling good is better than smelling not good, that’s just math. The teachers will be thankful, your fellow freshmen will be thankful, and the upperclassmen will be thankful.

I hope I have enlightened some of you, and if all you are feeling is offended, it’s because you are taking this letter too seriously. Please take this advice into consideration, as I want you to have an awesome freshman year! Being a senior myself, I suggest this advice because of mine and my fellow classmates’ many past experiences. I sincerely hope this small passage will make your freshman year go a little smoother.