Sophomore year at Davis High in many ways feels like a haunted house that you are forced by the government to walk through. That was my experience at least. I remember feeling an entire hurricane of emotions every day and constantly being afraid and self-conscious of things I’d never even thought about.

Having gone through three years of high school, there are several concepts of life I understand now that I wish someone had explained to me when I was young and terrified of the world. I want to bestow that knowledge onto as many sophomores as I can to help them navigate their way through the treacherous, Amazonian jungle like maze that is high school.

A huge problem in our society today is social media. We are constantly comparing our worst to everyone else’s best. This leads to a mindset that everyone around us is constantly judging us. Walking down the halls surrounded by so many people you don’t know can be extremely intimidating. When you look at it from a different perspective though, no one is judging you. Everyone is here to get an education and we probably all feel uncomfortable frantically running up a stairway when the minute bell rings. We’re all going through a lot of the same issues and we’re more alike than different.

My sophomore year I was horrified to say something dumb in class or wear something that looked dumb because I didn’t want to mess up a fake person that I was trying to create; a person that was acceptable to other people but not acceptable to myself. This is the key to being happy and making friends that love and accept you for who you are, be yourself! Wear whatever you want, talk about whatever you’re into, do what makes you happy. Don’t live a fake life just to fit in with people you have nothing in common with. Popularity doesn’t exist after high school.

There is a huge focus these days on getting perfect grades and getting accepted to top collages. We become so overwhelmed with work and stress that we forget to take care of ourselves and our mental health suffers. It is vital that you put school aside every once in a while, and take a mental break to clear your mind and take care of your body. When you’re in a healthy mindset it is way easier for you to learn and keep up on your work.

Another issue is when you fall behind on your homework or don’t understand a concept. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Get help as soon as you can because once you fall behind it’s almost impossible to catch up. Don’t be afraid of the teachers they are there to help you. I was afraid of my math teacher and I didn’t ask for help and suffered the whole year because I didn’t understand anything that was going on. Don’t let the workload overwhelm you and make sure you still leave time to relax and have a mental break.

Sophomore year and your overall high school experience can be amazing if you figure out how to have fun and care about your classes. When you think of school as a prison, you’re held captive in for seven hours, you lose any intrinsic motivation you had to come. But when you find a reason to try your best every day you are happier, and school becomes a safe place you really enjoy coming to. And that’s the tea.