You have ultimately made it. You got through freshman year and pushed through the sophomore year slump. Now one major obstacle remains: junior year. Junior year can be seen as a ticking time bomb stretched over a 10-month period, filled with seemingly impossible tests of endurance and perseverance.
Although junior year is certainly challenging both socially and academically, it’s not as impossible as it might appear. Senior Daniel Lopez offers this advice: “keep on going and it will be okay in the end.”
Current juniors struggle to see beyond the current challenges. “It’s just been academically challenging, there is so much work due and the course work has gotten harder because there’s so many APs available,” said Devansh Khandwala, junior.
To tackle the challenge of finding a perfect studying technique, Senior Victoria Rienton uses her personal approach: “For studying wise, like for tests and things, I give myself breaks. After 30-45 minutes I will give myself a ten minute tech-break. I can’t go long hours of studying because then I will just get bored.”
In contrast, Sherry Alao offers a different strategy. “For me, I just like to plan everything out. I am an avid to-do list maker, cause then it’s rewarding when you get to check them and you feel like you really accomplished a lot.”
When faced with the ultimate balancing act of extracurriculars and academics, Lopez reflects on his experience as an athlete on the HEHS boys water polo team, member of social studies club, SHO, and orchestra. He does all of this while juggling multiple AP classes.
“I just dedicated from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. typically for my extracurriculars and I only focused on that for that time. I did not think about academics during that time. I did not mix them up,” said Lopez. “There was an end and stop time for whenever I would have fun and when I would have to be serious.”
Lopez emphasizes the value of junior year, reflecting on his own experience. “…if I could go back in time to my junior self, I think the thing that I would change the most is probably enjoying my social life a bit more, talking to more people, having more hangouts.”
“Just try to enjoy it and think less of, you know, grades or academics or extracurricular, just enjoy it,” Lopez continued. His words serve as a reminder that although academics hold high value towards the future, the connections and experiences made throughout this pivotal year are equally as important.
Alongside the stress associated with junior year, students find comfort in a newfound sense of freedom and independence from past years. Junior year allows for a broader selection of classes, where students have a chance to explore their interests, take on leadership roles, and prepare for the unprecedented future, which includes the important perks of off campus lunch.
“Junior year was definitely my favorite year even though it was the hardest. I gained more independence, started driving, and got my core friend group,” said Sherri Alao, senior.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to tackle the challenges of junior year head-on, make the most of every opportunity, and as, Sherry Alao, wisely puts it: “Care less, girl, ask that question in physics, wear that outfit that’s lowkey ugly. Care less, because no one cares.”
