The first semester for freshmen can be an awkward transition; on my first day, I was completely lost in what seemed to be a massive labyrinth of hallways and rooms. The workload built up and it wasn’t pretty for most, but like they say, “When there is a will, there’s a way.” Without further ado, here’s my time in the first semester…

August:

In my first week, I was stumped on the route to my classes given that LHS is significantly larger than my previous school. I wish I had a map to navigate my first week at LHS. Eventually, I memorized the routes to my classes rather than where everything was in the school. During my first days and weeks, I would become familiar with the concept of Link Crew, intended to smoothen the transition from middle school to high school, which I thought was very helpful.

September:

The workload was slowly building, and I paid no attention to the future work I would have to tackle. This was an error on my end; not having any planner to keep track of my work would soon cause turbulence, especially with some of the harder classes I took. I also had gotten used to tackling tests which brought me either pretty results or an ugly outcome.

October:

This period was the first time I had heard anything about final exams. I now knew that there was something special about the end of the semester. Otherwise, school went on as usual as I longed for Thanksgiving break to arrive.

November:

In Link Crew, I received valuable information about the resources and some of the facilities here at the school, such as the LST. This was also the time when teachers really began informing me and others about finals like the schedule or what the final exam may look like depending on the class. Tests continued to pour in and although my grip was slipping, Thanksgiving break was right around the corner.

December:

In the final month of the first semester, I was less rejuvenated since Thanksgiving break was so short. Teachers began giving us work a little lighter since the semester was ending, as well as giving us time to prepare for finals. I was also given information on what final exams would be like, each teacher explained how they would administer the final exams and what their tests would look like. The month continued as usual except everyone was preparing for the final exams which were drastically different from an ordinary school day.

Some of the lessons I learned will be critical to your success (unless you have insane brain power). The second semester tends to be easier for freshmen as they have gotten used to the routine and how it will go. 

All in all, organize yourself nicely and have a good study plan to prepare for tests and final exams to come. Most of these lessons will carry over to college so keep them in mind when continuing on the path to graduation.