Advice from your 2025 Seniors:
By Natalia Woods, A&E editor
In a matter of days, the class of 2025 will walk across the stage at graduation and leave high school forever. Some will look back and say it was the best four years of their life; others will argue that high school was a bumpy road with a few highs and plenty of lows. Regardless of how the high school years treat you, there’s one undeniable truth that every senior can agree on: high school is truly a whole new world. You’ll be presented with unfamiliar challenges, meet new people, and learn more about yourself than ever– and ultimately, when it’s your turn to walk across the final stage, you’ll have grown into a new version of yourself. While that thought can seem terrifying, we’ve gathered advice from Maria Carrillo High School seniors who have experienced it all, navigated the ups and downs, and emerged successful.
Get involved.
You’ve probably heard this phrase thousands of times throughout your life: get involved. And while it might be the most cliche piece of advice, we truly believe that you need to hear it. It doesn’t matter what it is you're involved with; just do it. The wonderful thing about high school is that there really is something for everyone. Here at Carrillo, there are clubs ranging from baking to gardening, robotics, thrifting, and just about everything in between. We have strong sports teams, an incredibly talented musical department, a passionate leadership program, and, above all, a supportive community of students. So pick something–anything–and try it out. If it doesn’t work, just try something else– chances are you’ll eventually find something you love, and learn a lot about yourself through trial and error.
Rodrigo Rojas, a current senior, found his calling during junior year in the spirited leadership team here at Carrillo. He explained that the program is a “phenomenal way to meet new people,” and he wishes he had joined it sooner to immerse himself in the Carrillo culture. Being in leadership allows students to plan dances, spirit weeks, and be wholly immersed in Puma culture, one of the best ways to get involved in the school community.
Another way to get involved is through sports teams. No matter what sport you decide to join, it will provide you with so much more than just an after-school activity. You’ll learn important life skills like cooperation and hard work, learn to balance school and your sport, and above all, you’ll be a part of a team. Your team, whether it be on the basketball court or baseball field, will also provide you with a distinct group of friends. A new bond is created between teammates when they have to go through things like the more than undesirable 100-yard sprints, or the tiring commutes to games. Senior varsity athlete, Ashley Ngo, explains that joining the “women's soccer team has completely changed her high school experience for the better.” She even identifies her favorite high school memory as one she shares with her teammates: winning the NCS finals her senior year.
Senior Gabriel Murphy advises students to get involved in as much as possible, sharing that it has helped him in the long run. He gives the metaphor, “It’s better to bite off more than you can chew than to not bite enough and be hungry,” explaining that high school is the perfect time to get involved in preparation for college. It is very easy to get caught up in the bad moments of high school, it's important to remember that every difficulty is an opportunity to learn. Shravan Sundaram, a senior here at Carrillo, has been a member of Junior State of America, now called Civic Leaders of America, since his freshman year. He first joined to get involved in local politics, but stayed because of the community and the friends he’s made from the nationwide organization. Sundaram advocates for club involvement because it’s important to “showcase other sides of you and become multidimensional,” and to “support your interests” through the clubs you join. He also shares that clubs can be a wonderful way to “figure out who you are.”
Slow down
Let’s face it– high school isn’t easy. You have to balance challenging classes, extracurriculars, friends, and not to mention you’re going through an immense change in your life. It might feel impossible at times to manage this balancing act, but this is us telling you it’s not; you just have to allow yourself to breathe. This can look different for everyone, but do something that allows you to slow down. Guarantee, once you step back and allow yourself to take a deep breath, you’ll realize that it’s never that deep. Getting a bad grade or failing a test can feel like the end of the world, but it’s not. Taking on too much is something that almost everyone has done throughout their high school career. It’s all about maintaining your balance; feel busy enough, but not to the point where you can’t truly give your all to everything you are doing. Senior Erin Kelleher explains that you have to distinguish the things you have to do from the things you want to do, and find a balance between them.“Put more emphasis on the things you're passionate about, and it will never feel like you're working,” she states.
Develop good study habits.
Creating good study habits might not be something all seniors learned how to do early in their high school career, but it is something that they all agree is necessary before graduation. One of the biggest obstacles to tackle as a high school student is the temptation to procrastinate. I mean, who wants to do homework every night? It is incredibly difficult to break a habit like procrastination, so even just doing one or two assignments early can lift a huge amount of stress. Ngo explains that it's important to “not procrastinate before big tests or presentations” as it will only set you back more. Although MCHS is known for its difficult curriculum, it is also praised for its amazing life preparation, college or not. Learning how to deal with this stress and workload allows students to become more intelligent and capable people. Ngo states that she “would not change anything about the past four years as every hardship has taught [her] a lesson” and allowed her to grow into who she is today.
And finally, a word of advice from your writers.
Maya Ferrari:
As a senior who has had her fair share of ups and downs, my advice to you is to remember that you can do anything you put your mind to. Join the clubs that interest you, take that challenging class, and just say yes. Don't let anyone or anything stop you from doing what you want to. If you're confused, ask a question. No matter how dumb the inquiry may seem, it is always better to feel embarrassed for a second than confused for the rest of the course. If you get a bad grade or have a fight with a friend, remember that time will pass no matter what. There will be struggles within your four years here at MCHS, but if you are open to this advice, there will be so many more great memories than bad. I hope that when you read these tips, you feel slightly more prepared for your time in high school. Although I'm sure you have heard these common pieces of advice countless times in your life, you will soon find that they are repeated for a reason. The sooner you abide by these suggestions, the sooner you will understand their significance.
Natalia Woods:
All of this advice will help you adjust to high school life, and hopefully, have a successful four years. But if there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s this: these will be the quickest four years of your life. That might seem hard to believe, and four years stuck in the same place may seem daunting and endless, but ask any senior; it will be over before you know it. So, that being said, remind yourself to slow down. Join another club. Go to that basketball game. Fail a test. Take that picture with your friends.
And when it’s your turn to walk across the stage and leave high school forever, I hope you look back at your four years not thinking about all the times you messed up, or things you’ve regretted, but about the person you’ve become.