Calling all students of the Class of ‘26! The results are in: these are the most useful tips for your first year at the mighty 11 stories that is North Atlanta High School. While increased independence and freedom are definitie positives, the promotion to upper-level learning comes with great responsibility, as well, including managing a heavier workload and improving time-management skills.

This 2021-22 school year, North Atlanta’s beloved freshman class got the blessing (or curse…) of learning in the building. This way, these newbies were able to socialize with new people, which was much appreciated, considering the loss of almost half of their middle school years. “This year has expanded my social network to the fullest,” said freshman Carolyn Jahn. “The best part of this school is the people for sure!”

Expansion of social networking is quite obviously important for incoming students, but when interviewed, freshman interviewed emphasized the importance of being assertive and involved in high school. It goes by quick, they said, so anyone might as well make the most of it.
Another important piece of advice is the piece that could be a bit less fun than making new friends. This is, the ability to manage your time in the best way possible, with hopes of relieving stress and calming your new workload. Letting work pile up with the ultimate expectation of doing everything at the last minute will not serve you well in the long run. This practice will just destroy someone’s ambition and likely nuke someone’s GPA, as well. “In the first semester, PLEASE do your work. It will pay off in the long run, even though it seems hard,” said freshman Savannah Hayes. 

The very last bit of information that these freshmen are willing to relay to oncoming underclassmen is quite possibly the most important: choose your own path. At the end of the day, you are the only person in control of even a fraction of your eventual life endeavors, so stay true to yourself, and do not let your conscience falter. Freshman Tay Watkins offers this kernel of wisdom where the preceding advice is concerned. “It is not like it is in the movies,” Watkins said. “It may seem nice in the beginning, but your life is going to shift. You choose your life path: make it good. Trust yourself. Some people try to get you to do bad things, but you know you the best. So you should stay on the right track!”

Seems like the Class of 2025 has a whole of graspable wisdom their successors can lay claim to. Now: If we could just figure out how to catch those elevators on time.