By STEPHANIE TSAI, columnist

IT’S THAT time of the year again. College applications are done, transcripts and mid-year reports have been sent, and seniors are once again the envy of the school. It is now our turn to sit back, relax, and watch the juniors struggle with their summer program deadlines, SATs, and clubs. But don’t worry. We seniors are here to help. Before we cross the second-semester threshold — before we disappear into an abyss of parties and movies — we would like to impart some knowledge to our struggling underclassmen. After all, we have a good idea of how high school works, and we hope you can avoid making the same mistakes we made. Below is a list of what we wish we had told our younger selves:

“Dear 9th grade me, don’t join 20 clubs.”
—Kripa Rajan

“Dear 9th grade me, here is some good fashion advice for the rest of high school: dress like Mr. Cantalupo.”
—Ryan Szemple

“Dear 9th grade me, do your homework. It’ll help you a lot.” —Aseem Sharan

“Dear 9th grade me, be more enthusiastic and take your classes seriously.”
—Anita Chitnis

“Dear 9th grade me, don’t fall for the swimming-pool-on-the-roof joke.”
—Maxine Wagenhoffer

“Dear 9th grade me, don’t be afraid to speak your mind and talk to new people. High school is much more fun that way.” —Karthik Ramakrishnan

“Dear 9th grade me, please don’t slack off this year because it will haunt you when college apps come around.”
—Julia Thomas

“Dear 9th grade me, people don’t take it seriously, but freshman year does matter.”
—Brenda Elfvengren

“Dear 9th grade me, respect everyone. You don’t know their background or where they’re from.”
—Alex Moskal

“Dear 9th grade me, please don’t derp so hard in Biology. You’ll regret its inhumane slaughter of your GPA. I promise.”
—Daniel Wang

“Dear 10th grade me, get your elective requirements out of the way.”
—Julie Burg

“Dear 10th grade me, stay out of trouble. Don’t do stupid things.”
—Jasdeep Buttar

“Dear 10th grade me, stop wearing those hideous jeans.”
—Robert DeVico

“Dear 10th grade me, start studying for the SAT now or else you’ll fail.”
—Sanjana Prakash

“Dear 10th grade me, don’t get too excited that freshman year is over. You still have three more years to go!”
—Katy Sun

“Dear 10th grade me, high school is all about balance. Work hard, play hard.”
—Stephanie Tsai

“Dear 10th grade me, get bigger and more muscular.”
—Jack Barnes

“Dear 11th grade me, get sleep because you’re going to need it.”
—Maxine Wagenhoffer

“Dear 11th grade me, don’t procrastinate at all. Everyone does it, but it’ll get to you in the end.”
—Nick Quaglieri

“Dear 11th grade me, don’t stay up to 1 AM watching shows on Hulu.”
—Christine Geeng

“Dear 11th grade me, don’t change yourself for anyone. You don’t need any boy in your life to be happy. In fact, you don’t need anyone in your life who doesn’t need you there just as much.”
—Roshni Patel

“Dear 11th grade me, I know you think that you must load up on as many AP classes as you can for next year, but you should only take the classes that you truly like. Trust me, as a second-semester senior, you do not want to be stuck in classes that do not interest you.”
—Alekhya Jonnalagedda

While our advice may seem overwhelming and dramatic (you will not fail if you start SAT studying in junior year), it will steer you in the right direction. We’ve been there, done that. We know you’re probably stressed, tired, and fed up right now with all the schoolwork and obligations. But for every moment spent in distress, there are three more moments of laughter as you run in circles in gym, hang out with your friends after school, and meet new people in classes and at events. It may seem tough now, but you will get through it, and soon, you too will be a wise senior.