Sophomore year goes by pretty quickly. Here are some things you should keep in mind to make the most of it.

Stop being a freshman and put your books in your locker.

We all know the stereotype that freshmen carry their lockers in their backpacks, and I’m sure at one point you were like that too. Now that you’re a sophomore, you should be able to find time to make it to your locker in between classes to keep your backpack light and small. You don’t want other students to mistake you for a freshman, right?

Be active.

You hopefully tried a sport or a few clubs freshman year, but now is the time to decide what really interests you and stick to it. Strive to do your best and use your skills to help others. For example, if you made a sports team freshman year, working really hard at practice and going to off season lifting. You could end up making the varsity team and by senior year, you could be captain.

Take your iACT seriously.

Even though it doesn’t count for an actual grade, it is still very important. If you try on on it, you can get a pretty good estimate on what your score would be on your ACT next year. When you get your scores back, you can use them to know what sections you need practice on or just need to re-learn.

Stay up to date.

It’s always a good idea to keep up with what is going on in the school. From a bake sale to the Skokie Skirmish, there are so many events that are fun to go to with your friends, where you can show some school spirit. School isn’t all about test scores or even state trophies; it’s about making memories and the people you make them with.

Think about college.

I know you’re thinking, “It’s only my second year of high school and you want me to be thinking about college?” I know it seems early, but it never hurts to plan ahead. You don’t need to decide what you want to do or what college you want to go to just yet. However, it can be beneficial to start exploring your options. What you might be interested in to study? Do you want to go away or stay close to home? Do you want to go to a big, a medium-sized, or a small school?

Luckily, to help answer all those questions, there is a college night at Niles West in the spring where hundreds off colleges send representatives to talk to you about their school.

Good luck, Vikings! Don’t let sophomore year go to waste.