By Kimberly Armenta

EVERY student has his or her own expectations depending on the grade he or she is in. There will be fun times and boring times, there will be easy assignments and hard assignments. Students will just have to work hard and stay on task.

“Being a freshman is probably one of the best experiences ever. This is the time where you start to settle into high school and find out who you really are,” Victor Gallegos (10) said.

High school is a fun experience and a way to meet new people. It’s not only about stressing and doing work all the time.

“I can already tell the upcoming freshmen are going to be more prepared than I was. My advice to them is to always pay attention in class, do your work and have a great attitude, he said.

Staying in class will not exactly lead students into getting better grades — doing the work and staying on task, on the other hand, will lead to good grades and achievements.

“Honestly, I expected high school to be really hard. I thought we would have a lot of school work and we would spend all our free time doing homework. It turns out, if you finish your work in class, you will have less homework and more time for yourself,” Rigoberto Alvarez (11) said.

As long as students are caught up with their work, it will not affect them in any way and will allow them to do whatever it is they like to do in their free time.

“As a junior you’re going to be having sleepless nights; you’re going to be busy most the time, and there will be lots of stress,” Karla Arteaga (12) said.

“I honestly think that if you’re going to be committed to school, you shouldn’t let friends influence you into skipping class, doing bad in school, or breaking school rules,” she said.

There will be a lot of new experiences; students will have to be able to handle what’s coming.

“Tests are going to be hard, there will be lots of them. To me, my junior year was hard. For others, it might not be. Others might be able to handle the challenge better,” she said.

Being in high school is a challenge, but hard work and concentration will lead students to success.

“My advice to upcoming juniors would be to keep up with the work that will be given to you. Get rid of your procrastination, manage your time wisely, and study for everything,” Arteaga said.

Success comes from hard work and commitment. High school is just a pathway to success, and it’s a journey all Lancers should complete. And as with many journeys, the end comes sooner than expected.

“My experience as a senior was pretty cool, and sad at the same time. I knew this was going to be my last year in high school. It was sad as well, because I’m going to have to leave my friends behind — at least those who are in different grades,” Jose Cardenas (‘16) said.

Not only the thought of leaving friends behind, but thinking about what students are going to do after high school is pretty stressful.

“The advice I would give to upcoming seniors would be to not get lazy. I got lazy, and my grades dropped. They all went back up, but it took a lot of my time. Also instead of stressing over everything, just relax and enjoy your last year in high school. Make memories, but most importantly, make yourself and your parents proud,” he said.