by Robin Donohoe and Andrew Mannix
At the end of the 2013 school year, students shared advice they wished they had taken last September. Follow their “do’s” and “don’ts” before it’s too late!
 
For freshmen 
“Do take teachers seriously. If I had taken my teachers more seriously, I would have actually kept my papers and wouldn’t have been so stressed out for finals.”
—Sophomore Evelyn Bryson
“Do join teams and participate in sports. I wish I had joined the golf team”
—Sophomore Eric Mah
“Don’t drop clubs. I wish I would have stuck with some of the clubs I signed up for. I think that it would overall have been worthwhile to keep going.”
—Sophomore Rachel Shnit-man
“Don’t hesitate to join clubs and get involved.”
—Sophomore Ethan Smith
 
For sophomores
“Don’t let your grades bring you down. I wish I had paid attention in school and done my homework more frequently. My poor grades have held me back from doing so much.”
–Junior Jelani Asim
“Do learn how the hallways work and learn your schedule. Once you find out where your classes are, you can get there faster.”
–Junior Larissa Cardoso
“Don’t slack off on homework. I wish I hadn’t slacked off getting my homework done and taken greater advantage of getting help during X-block.”
–Junior Kirsten Cotter
“Do introduce yourself to people. If I were a freshman again, I would have introduced myself to Mr. Vignone. He’s a really cool dude.”
–Junior Scott Kelly
 
For juniors
“Don’t spend so much time worrying about what others think of you. It’s easy to find people who share your interests and who like you for who you are, so don’t spend valuable time and effort working on changing yourself.”
—Senior Alex Fabry
“Do find a balance between sports and school. I wish I had played basketball this year. I took the season off because I wanted to focus on my grades, which was really helpful, but I missed being part of the team.”
—Senior Emma Tavolieri
“Do join clubs and don’t worry about what your friends are doing. Find something you enjoy; you’ll make more friends doing things you like.”
—Senior Preston Yong
 
For seniors
“Do not fear being lopsided—nurture one passion; practice it to refine it even when the practical side of life recommends you to relinquish it.”
—Christina Chen ’13
“Do something that involves being with other people. In the end, those are the relationships that you will remember, even more so than when you get an ‘A’ in your toughest class.”
—David Demarest ’13
“Don’t worry so much. ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.’ This classic line from the 1986 masterpiece Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, summarizes my philosophy on North well.”
—Jacob Schwartz ’13
“Do SPARC. SPARC is an internship opportunity that allows you to finish your classes early. I have loved every second of my SPARC experience.”
—Jill Zwetchkenbaum ’13
The statements from graduates are quoted from senior statements as seen in the graduation special.