My dearest Freshmen/Freshies/Fresh Meat, Welcome to Xavier!

I am so excited for you as you embark on the journey of high school and begin your year of firsts. I know you have probably heard this a thousand times, but before you know it, you’ll be beginning your year of lasts. I would kill to be in your shoes right now.

I want you to know that your years of high school can be some of the best years of your life. With that being said, it is also what you make of it. If you don’t want to have a good high school experience, you won’t. If you DO want to have a good high school experience, you WILL. How do you do this, you ask? Surround yourself with the right people, stay out of drama, and don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself sometimes. I spent a lot of my freshman year trying to be cool and now that I look back on it, I realize that in trying to look cool, I actually just looked like a “typical Freshman whack”.

In time, Xavier will start to feel less like a school and more like a home, and your classmates will begin to feel less like your peers and more like your family members. You don’t get a whole lot of time with these family members, however, so make the most of it! Go out of your way to make new friends and include everyone. One of my biggest regrets in high school was waiting until Kairos my junior year to branch out and become close with my classmates. There are so many incredible people in your grade, don’t wait too long to figure that out!

I encourage you to make the most of your years at Xavier. Try new things. Explore. If you’ve always wanted to be in a theatre production, try out! The possibilities are endless. It’s not hard to get involved at Xavier, and I promise that being involved in a ton of things will make your high school experience that much better.

In closing, I advise you to cherish every moment. The next four years will be gone in the blink of an eye. I hope your freshman year, and all of your years of high school are everything you’ve hoped they would be! I am confident that Xavier will be a place you come to love and to quote a fabulous musical, “I think you’re gonna like it here.”