By Hayden Sampson

I have been here for 7 years, and every day I learn something I wish I had known the day before. I wanted to see if I could help other people avoid that. Sadly, I alone don’t have the expertise needed to give you guys all the advice you need for a 4-year stint in high school at Tempe Prep. So, I decided to reach out to some other people for help. Maya Kostov is one of those people. At senior night, she said, “High School is a time for personal growth and development. Do not let the fear of rejection or embarrassment stop you from trying something new. Even if you don’t succeed, anything that you made an effort to do or try isn’t a failure.” With that said, here are my top 5 rules for high school at Tempe Prep:

1. Get to know people. As we have learned from Covid-19, life without people is the definition of boring. The best part about Tempe Prep is that it is not hard to find someone you know. The more people you talk to, the more fun walking down our small hallways will be. Another thing: teachers count too. If you think of teachers as the thing in your way rather than someone that knows a lot and wants to help you, life is only gonna get harder. Get to know them, look to them as mentors, and they will help you out. Life is hard, good people make it easier. Don’t forget to look for them.
2. Get the work done. Senior and master scholar Maya Kostov says, “I keep a pretty strict planner. I really like crossing things off and knowing what I need to do.” I can tell you from personal experience that the more organized you are, the less you have to worry about knowing what is going on. Your friends and classmates, as well as upperclassmen, are also great resources. If you’re struggling, there is always somebody who can help. Ask them, and I’m sure they would be willing to help. If not, just find somebody else. TPA isn’t that small. Says Senior Evan Hackett, “Go to paideia. Don’t be afraid to spend extra time on getting things right. You won’t regret it.” Another important thing is that almost 90 percent of school work, even at Tempe Prep, is just showing up. So, go to class, pay attention, and do the work, and it will most likely pay off.
3. Don’t be afraid to try new things. I’m not saying try the new restaurant across the street, although that’s not a terrible idea. Instead, look for new clubs and sports to try. If you never try anything, you’ll never know what you could be good at. I can testify that even if you aren’t good at something, it could still be fun (For example: I’m still in choir). One of the best ways to meet people and make friends is to get involved in what is going on on campus. If you choose not to do anything, life will be boring, I promise. Don’t be afraid to go out and do something different, it might surprise you.
4. Take care of yourself. Maya Kostov says, “It’s always good to stop and take a deep breath. Just sitting in the dark, relaxing, listening to music is really therapeutic. Be sure to remember that TPA is a hard school, but it isn’t everything. At some point you have to put yourself first. Don’t be afraid to step away from your computer and everything you have to do. Sometimes if you’re stressed, it’s better to step away and do something else for a while. It’s not gonna do anyone any good if you just keep stressing yourself out even more. Come back to it later. Looking at something with fresh eyes is almost always better.” Maya is probably one of the busiest people I know, but somehow, she manages to do it all at once. Part of that is being willing to understand that you can’t always do everything, and that’s okay. David Allen once said, “You can do anything but not everything.” Don’t spread yourself too thin. Being happy is more important than anything else.
5. Have fun. When you look back at high school, you won’t remember the things you stressed about or what happened to that one person that you already forgot the name of. In reality, you are gonna remember the fun times you had with the people you care about. Never forget that. To those leaving with me this year, it has been one heck of a ride. To those just getting started, I hope this can be of some help. Good luck.