First things first, DO NOT skip out on orientation day. Two good reasons for this is... 1) It will not only make you more comfortable in your new school environment, but 2) you can also use it to meet new people. That's right, instead of hanging out with your mom, you can go out of your way to meet new people. It will help A LOT. A hint that might also make your transition easier is to have your schedule with you. I'm not telling you to keep it in front of your face the whole day. You don't want to bump into any upperclassmen (more on that later). Keep it around just in case you need a quick reference. A good idea is to keep a picture of your schedule on your phone. Try setting it as your lock screen. In case your phone dies, put it on the inside of your "everything" binder (more on it later). Also, you might want to plan your route before the first day of class. Keep everything in order, the last thing you want is to come into the wrong class. Example: A freshman, named Alexandria Alexander, asked a teacher for a specific classroom. It turned out the classroom didn't exist in that building. KEEP YOUR CLASSES IN CHECK.
Now, let's deal with the locker situation. Many schools provide you with a designated locker, which is great, but other schools let you chose your own. The trick to getting the perfect locker is to get one in a place where it is accessible and easy to get to in between classes. If you receive designated locker that doesn't work for your schedule, then follow the procedures. Go to the Dean of the school and fill out the locker information
sheet. FRESHMAN, YOU HAVE A LOCKER FOR A REASON. You don't want to look like that one kid that everyone calls turtle because of the size of their backpack. You don't need to carry all of your books to class. "It is your home away from home. USE IT to your advantage and place your belongings in it. WARNING: A deep black hole where items get lost may be in your locker, please BEWARE! There is no need for you to break your back and look like a wannabe turtle when you have a locker. If you picked one in the right section of the school, you don't need to carry unnecessary weight around. Your back will thank you later. If you have that overstuffed backpack, you might as well have freshman written across your back.
Woohoo! Made it through the first half of the day! On to the next half!
You nervously scan the cafeteria for anyone you know to sit with at lunch. You didn't really hang out with Emily a whole lot last year, but you can both sit together at lunch and share how painfully awkward your first day has been. What you don't realize is that there's been an unspoken seating chart in the cafeteria for years. Guess what? That table you just sat at IS FOR SENIORS ONLY. "How do I know? Let's just say I've experienced the same four years ago.
Here are the rules...
When you first go into the cafeteria for lunch, you must scout out where your peers are sitting. You don't want to be that one freshman that accidentally sits at the popular senior section. Trust me, it will not end well. Unless you know someone who is a senior then maybe you can get a free ride to the senior section.
In all honesty it doesn't matter who you know, but it helps to know the right people now and then. Especially when, cue the dramatic piano, FRESHMAN FRIDAY. Here is some advice to survive that dreaded first Friday:
-DO NOT walk near trash cans.
-DO NOT walk near opened lockers.
-DO NOT stop in front of the upper-class men in the hallways.
-DO NOT act like you own the school.
-DO NOT ACT LIKE A FRESHMAN.
-DO NOT believe any of this. Freshman Friday is not real!!
Are you still trying to figure out if Freshman Friday exists, please don't, I was just kidding. THERE IS NO FRESHMAN FRIDAY, PROMISE! You're so nervous about getting stuffed in a locker or tripped by an upperclassmen and falling on your face that you secretly dread that first Friday of school. You suck up to upperclassmen. You're hoping being their "friend" will save you. Well my friend, let me tell you, IT DOES NOT EXIST. Seniors everywhere created this phenomenon to scare the living daylights out of you. Nobody likes it when the "newbies" come in thinking that they rule the school. All we want to do is scare you a little and think we will do all of these things but in reality, we won't. Basically this can be summed up in four words, SENIOR RULE, FRESHMAN DROOL. I know it's a bit pathetic, but it's the reality of high school. Trust me you will see the humor in it when your time comes to horrify freshman.
