As a junior nearing the end of my third year of high school, I could provide an extensive list of advice I have for incoming juniors. This list would include: become friends with your teachers (having a confirmed letter of recommendation is nice); don’t vape (you will be judged) and don’t get involved in drama (high school is too short to waste it on stupid friend group beefs). If I could only pass on one piece of advice, I would disregard all of the unimportant things listed above because there is one piece of advice that tops all of the others. Do NOT become best friends with the seniors. Here’s why:
First off, it is NOT helpful to have support from a senior as you navigate through the hardest year of high school. Though they will actively be in the college application process and will have recently been juniors themselves, just ask a parent or college counselor all of your questions! It does not matter that they haven’t been in high school for 30-plus years. They will totally have accurate and helpful information to give you.
Secondly, you may think that it would be nice to have a close friend outside of your grade to talk to, but this is not true. It is super fun hanging out with the same people every day and having no variety. Even better, if there is drama in your grade, by not being friends with a senior, you save yourself the hassle of having to explain the situation to them. If you need an outside perspective or helpful advice on said drama in your grade, too bad! Remember, anything is better than having a friend who is a senior.
The third reason not to become best friends with a senior is that when they are freshmen in college, they may invite you to visit them, which would be SO boring. Who would want to stay on a college campus for the weekend, go to frat parties and hang out with older and cooler people? Definitely not me. I would rather go on a four-hour tour with my mother led by a monotone tour guide than have my friend show me the parts of campus that I would actually go to and not the ten libraries that have been there since the 1700s. I am so thankful I avoided the seniors this year because the last thing I want to be doing next year is visiting them.
The last and most important reason why I advise against becoming best friends with any seniors is that there is genuinely nothing more heartbreaking than counting down the days until your best friends leave you behind, move to another state and start a whole new chapter of their lives as you are stuck in the last one. All of the amazing memories shared suddenly will be overshadowed by the sickening feeling that grows stronger and stronger as graduation creeps closer. Trust me, it’s not worth it.