Dear Tayolor: Freshman Advice

Tayolor Witherspoon

Staff Writer

@TayolorJay

Although I didn’t attend Tupelo High School as a freshman, I can share some of the things I experienced as a new student here.

My freshman year of high school was spent at home. I was a student at American High School online, through Florida. I had eight classes and communicated with all of my teachers and classmates online and in chat groups. I took all advanced placement classes and got a few extra classes out of the way. For example, art history, health and P.E.

When I was homeschooled, everything was done on my on time, but I didn’t get to see my friends as often, nor did I have any team or club to cheer on and support. Sometimes I got pretty lonely, which is one reason why I came back to the Tupelo Public School District for my sophomore year. My parents also felt that I needed to be in a real classroom setting to better prepare me for the college life.

At THS, there are many opportunities placed before us. We have so many different classes to choose from, giving us a platform for any future college classes we plan to take. There’s also a great number of clubs that you can choose to take part in. We have Key Club, Beta Club, Fashion Club, and even clubs for you animal lovers. There’s also many different sports you can try out for. We have basketball, baseball, swimming tennis and even archery, etc. We have lots of pep rallies, school dances, assemblies and more. We also have really cool visitors who come to speak and share their special talents with us. Some dread having to be here so early in the morning, having 90-minute classes or even only having five minutes to get to your next class. But there’s so many great things about being a student here at THS.

I remember the day I came to register. I was sitting in my counselor’s office making my schedule with my dad. Unfortunately, he made me take a few classes that I didn’t necessarily want, but I was determined to make the best out of my first year at a real high school. My sophomore year I took a total of eight classes and earned a total of eight credits. My favorite classes were Foundations of Journalism, Biology II and World Geography. Not only were they my favorite classes, but the teachers who taught them were my favorite as well.

My sophomore year really gave me a good feel about how the high school life was going to be. Besides academics, my first year as a high school student helped me gain more confidence and even become less impatient. I learned more about respect and responsibility, and it even helped me progress in my leadership abilities. I started off at THS with a bang, ending my sophomore year with all A’s. And now as a junior, I plan to continue that streak this year as well as next year.

A few seniors, who’ve attended THS for the past four years, shared a few words of wisdom for the new and upcoming freshmen.

“You should stay to yourself, always pay attention in class and also make sure you take the hard ones before your 12th-grade year,” Chelsey Clay said. “I think that’s pretty much it.”

Even though I didn’t attend THS my freshman year, now that I’m a junior, I can share with you the advice that’s helped me accomplish all that I have and has brought me this far.

Set a goal, put your mind to it and accomplish it. Embrace your positives, then focus more on your negatives to better them. Keep a good attitude and a strong mindset. Not only respect your teachers and administrators, but respect your peers as well as yourself. Pay attention in all of your classes, do your work in and outside of school and always listen.
Make good choices. Never let anyone tell, nor stop you, from being who you are, and realize that you along with everyone else are special in their own way. Most importantly, always do your best, and do it to the best of your ability. And lastly, good luck to you all.