Opinion

Opinion Roundup: What I wish I knew before starting high school

Anya Basnayake, Opinion Editor • October 8, 2025

Students share pieces of advice for students who are in or just entering high school.

As the school year kicks off, Townsend Harris High School welcomes new Harrisites, who are starting the next chapter of their education in high school. The start of the school year is always a great time to reflect and to set goals for the upcoming year ahead. Returning Harrisites look back to when they were a freshman, and share advice on freshman year and high school as a whole for the class of 2029.

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“One thing I would say is super important is to not wait until the last minute to do everything. It’s important that you start earlier than you want to, like even a little bit makes life so much easier. It’s also good to know that things pile up pretty quickly so it’s more important than ever to organize and prioritize your time so that you’re not stressing and cramming to meet deadlines. This advice could be especially useful on those late nights spent staying up just a few hours before school in order to study, finish homework, or work on projects. Having a solid schedule genuinely makes life so much better and allows you to have time for yourself as well, which is necessary for everyone.”

— Junior Emily Ramgoria

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“The biggest piece of advice I’d give is getting involved. I also think you should take care of your academics. Though graduation is far away for freshmen, their grades will still matter in the end. Looking back, I wish I knew that nothing is that serious, no one cares if you cough in class or how you walk down the hall, there’s nothing embarrassing in existing and if someone cares about what you’re doing there’s something wrong with them and not you. Sophomore year I tamed down my personality to not be perceived as weird and make more friends. The moment I started acting like myself I met some of my favorite people.”

— Senior Agnieszka Nalepa

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“High school is just one phase of your life. Right now it is the most important phase and that is natural but you’re going to live a long, fruitful life and when you get older, you will realize that high school was just one part of that life. So do your best to not stress, enjoy yourself when you can and know that there are many great things in your future. Make a plan. It might not always be easy to stick with it but if you have an idea of where you’re going, it’s gonna be way easier to get there. If you’re prepared, nothing can sneak up on you. A lot of this advice would have helped me but I was too young and dumb to know it. Do your best to listen to the older people in your life who have been there and done that. I know it might be hard to listen to them sometimes, but they know where they’ve been and what they’ve done so they’re just trying their best to help you get to where you need to go.”

— History Department Francis McCaughey

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About the Contributors

Anya Basnayake, Opinion Editor

Anya is a junior at Townsend Harris High School, and plans to pursue a career in law. Outside of journalism, Anya enjoys playing guitar, spending time with friends, and watching movies. Her favorite Classic project she has worked on is an opinion roundup on cultural representation in events at Townsend Harris. In general, her favorite piece on the Classic is a feature article on the gender gap in MAGA and its affect on social life.

Wing Yan Tan, Art Editor

Wing is a junior in Townsend Harris High School, and she plans on pursuing a career relating to art, math, and perhaps architecture. She loves painting and hanging out with friends. Her favorite Classic piece she has ever worked on is an article about the new captain crew of the Girls Fencing Team, as it was her first published individual article. Her favorite Classic piece made by others is an article about the school’s dress code from 2019. She believes it was nice that students’ voices were being heard.

Bella Chen, Sports Photography Editor

Bella is a senior at Townsend Harris High School who hopes to pursue a career that gives her the opportunity to help people. Outside of journalism, she enjoys playing volleyball and cooking. Her favorite Classic piece she worked on is Scenes from Prom 2024, where she remembers the seniors’ happy faces and the delicious ice cream. Her favorite Classic piece made by others is an article titled “Mr. Wang Retires After Ten Years Serving as a THHS Guidance Counselor,” by Intishar Chinho. Mr. Wang was her guidance counselor and she agreed with all the kind things said about him.

Samira Li, Photography Editor

Samira is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. She’s been into photography since joining the Classic and loves to explore new cameras. She enjoys spending time with her friends and exploring new things as they come.

Emily Zheng, Photography Editor

Emily Zheng is a junior at Townsend Harris High School, and she wants to pursue a career in finance and marketing. In her free time, she loves to explore new study cafes with friends, watch new dramas, and read romance books. One of her favorite Classic projects she worked on was from prom last year because a lot of her senior friends were graduating so she got to spend time with them. Her favorite Classic piece made by others are the college video shorts/reels each year. This trend of showcasing the colleges that seniors are heading to has been a trend for a while now so seeing our school participate in the trend was so fun and inspiring.