“Dear High School Student” is a weekly student life series in which a student or staff member from Coppell High School gives a piece of advice to the student body. This week, The Sidekick staff photographer Kyah Jones asked CHS junior Jasmin Sanchez to share advice about what classes to take and the importance of not overwhelming yourself.  

When coming into high school, students should try not to overwhelm themselves with hard classes and possibly try to balance out advanced classes with honors or on-level classes according to Sanchez. Her experience of taking a medley of class difficulties  has been effective and helped her out in the long run. Sanchez also advises doing activities outside the classroom, which she does herself by  volunteering at the North Texas Food Bank and working part-time as a receptionist at Driven Elite, which is an athletic performance gym in grapevine mall. 

Sanchez suggests having electives that fit your interest, which have helped motivate her, and she performs best in those classes. She takes two AP classes including AP English and AP U.S. history, along with honors classes like pre-calculus and physics. Her electives are business law, forensic science and dance. For extracurriculars, she is also in the student council and National Honor Society.

Throughout high school, students should also focus on their mental health and try not to overwhelm themselves with school work. Mental health problems can affect a student’s energy level, concentration, dependability and optimism, hindering their performance. Instead of focusing on themselves, students are often focusing on the exam or project they have coming up. 

However, Sanchez thinks it is important to take breaks in between study sessions. 

School is not overwhelming, according to Sanchez, though sometimes unnecessary stress is added to her life in regards to maintaining good grades and a high GPA in order for her to get into a good college.