As many of you underclassmen may know, junior year is advertised as the most difficult of your high school career. Plagued with copious amounts of school work and standardized tests, junior year has the ability to cause great amounts of stress and anxiety. My message to upcoming juniors: don’t let this intimidate you. Junior year is essentially what you make of it, if you manage your time well and find time to enjoy yourself, this year has the potential to be one of the best years of your high school career. As my own junior year begins to wind down, reflecting on my experience, both mistakes and successes, allowed me to construct a set of rules necessary to survive junior year in one piece.

Rule #1: Choose your courses wisely
Give some thought in deciding which courses you plan on taking junior year. Know your limits. Don’t sign up for all the hardest possible classes junior year if you currently struggle to manage your workload as a Sophomore. Junior honors and AP classes are much more difficult and time consuming compared to freshman and sophomore year. It’s good that students are no longer allowed to take nine courses, but I would also stay away from taking eight unless you feel capable. You also have to take into account the time commitment of preparing for standardized tests. The harsh reality is that standardized tests are very meaningful in applying to college. Although you can take these tests senior year, it is a good idea to try at least one before senior year, giving you time improve your scores.

Rule #2 Manage your time, it is limited
It is very important to make time for school athletics and extracurricular activists when considering course load junior year. If you play a sport that occupies much of your time or participate in multiple sports spanning the majority of school year, you must improve on managing your time. Plan your week ahead of you. Don’t wait do all of your homework until the last minute. This is a lot easier said than done. Speaking from personal experience, doing large assignments and studying for tests the night before not only decrease your chances of getting a good grade but also leaves you restless and miserable. Never abstain from doing work for more than two straight days, unless during break. There is always something you can do to prepare for a class. Doing work ahead can also make your junior year much more enjoyable as a whole.

Rule #3: Make time to have fun
After all, you are still in high school. Go to football games, hangout with friends, make time to do stuff you actually enjoy. Don’t let the academics of junior year interfere with your entire junior year experience. Find a good balance between work and play and stick to it. Junior year is essentially what you make of it, my final advice would just be to push yourself when necessary and try not to stress out.

To all upcoming juniors, I wish you good luck next year, it’s really not at bad as it seems.