As a high schooler, life can be tough, and when nobody understands what you’re going through, it can be even tougher. Luckily, this doesn’t have to be the case.

Experienced and intelligent former seniors, Nathan Bolton and Austin Dominguez, are here to give you the advice you need to make it through your high school career. Here are a couple of tips:

Austin – Tip #1: Don’t fall behind. It can be hard to keep up, but it’s much harder to catch up.

Nathan – Tip #2: Don’t wait until your senior year for anything. Seriously, long term procrastination is even worse than short term procrastination.

Austin – Tip #3: Start strong. Freshman year is extremely important to your academic success.

Nathan – Tip #4: Make a plan for your future. Successful people don’t let things happen to them. They go out and happen to things.

Austin – Tip #5: Join plenty of extracurricular activities. It never hurts to stretch your wings and you might even discover where you want to go in life.

Nathan – Tip #6: Don’t overwhelm yourself. If you can’t handle 27 AP courses, then don’t take 27 AP courses.

Austin – Tip #7: Befriend at least one teacher. As they say, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

Nathan – Tip #8: Be likable. Read ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’. Above all, don’t make pointless enemies. It can only hurt you.

Austin – Tip #9: Shave if you need to. The school razors are awful. If you think you’ll get caught, just do it at home.

Nathan – Tip #10: Look at things in perspective. High School is temporary. Life is temporary. You aren’t even a speck of dust in the scope of the universe. Chill.

But perhaps the most important thing you can do to be successful in high school is to emulate strong role models. Having someone who has done it all before can make a big difference and really help you out.

We hope you enjoyed your first week, Cougars. Good luck in High School!