So your inner geek has convinced you to take on a couple (or maybe all) honors classes or even AP classes next year huh? Or maybe you have a friend who’s leaving you to take said classes. Maybe you have several friends that have signed up for totally different courses than you did. Horrible? Yeah. Does it have to be like this for the whole year? No, no and no.

I know firsthand how MISERABLE the idea of going into high school or just going into a new year of high school alone is. As a freshman, I took all honors classes and only some of my friends had a small chance of being in my class. I did end up having to go through freshman year without some of my middle school friends but at the end of the year I had made a whole lot of new friends. I know you’ve been probably told that already by your parents, but it really is true. Trust me. High school is a time that you can and should take advantage of to make friends with different people. If you don’t, you’ll only end up driving yourself insane and keep yourself from having an enjoyable time. Believe me, what your mom/dad/guidance counselor is true. I’ve been there. Twice actually. On top of moving four times up and down the East Coast, I’m like a veteran when it comes to being in different classes (or states!) from your best friends.

That’s not to say that you can’t keep in touch with the people that you may not being seeing much of in school. Join a sport or club together, continue hanging out whenever you have time to. But the thing is not to keep a closed mind and refuse to meet anyone new. Even if you do, I’m sure it’ll be impossible for you to not find someone you like. And remember, you’re not alone when it comes to being separated from your friend(s) during high school. It happened to me freshman year and it happened to me sophomore year and guess what? I’ll probably have to deal with being in different classes from my friends throughout the rest of my high school years, but that’s okay. I really regret looking at my sophomore year as a tough and monotonous year for 90% of the time because I actually appreciated who I had as classmates only as the year came to a close. Take it from me- it’s not the end of the world if you happen to get separated from your friends next year. Okay, well, maybe for like the first five minutes it might feel like it is :p Friendship is a good thing, but don't let it limit the choice of class to take or how you approach a school year.