Senior year is often considered the most overwhelming yet rewarding year of high school. Not only are you presenting all of your hard work from the last four years to colleges, you’re also preparing to leave the nest. Spring semester is typically associated with senioritis and an abundance of free time on your hands, but for me, this is far from the truth. Since I am a student here at FSHA and also a hostess at California Pizza Kitchen, balancing my priorities is often a struggle. In order to be successful in your senior year, you need some tools in your back pocket. And what I’ve learned is, the busier you are, the more productive you can be.

As a hostess at the CPK in Pasadena, I’m constantly juggling maintaining success in academics, working regular hours, and managing my social life. Sometimes, there is a crossover of all of these aspects within one shift. For example, fellow Tologs like Ava McGarry ‘26 and Victoria Wilczek ‘27 pop into the restaurant all the time to pick up take-out. I am constantly forced to multi-task, along with engaging in friendly conversation with customers and employees. At work, you’ll often find me folding kids menus, cleaning the windows, seating customers, wiping off menus and even cleaning  bathrooms.

Since working as a hostess for the past three years, I gained a lot of experience balancing high school priorities. This includes completing homework before shifts, balancing family dinners with Sunday night shifts, and coming straight from school to work several days a week. With a push from my parents, nothing could stop me from working, not even my lack of a drivers’ license throughout freshman sophomore and junior year. Back then I just walked to work. 

Since freshman year, my jobs have significantly evolved. From working at a burger joint where I served as a cashier, to a sports camp for kids where I looked after 6- year – olds, to a hostess at a sushi restaurant, and finally to CPK, I have learned responsibility and gained the tools necessary to take on senior year. I never would have learned how to manage my time weeks in advance, which has benefited me immensely when it comes to completing school work on time. My first job, the wackiest one, was at a burger joint called HI-Life. Everyone there was 25 and experienced, and I was 15 with no idea how to tell the difference between a combo and a kids meal. The only way I learned was by working. And eventually, I found a more fitting job for my talents: being a hostess.

So, freshmen, if you’re ever wondering how you’re going to balance your work as upperclassmen, my advice to you is this: go out and get a job! The busier you are outside of school, the more you will be able to take on inside of school. This was a lesson that nobody could have taught me. I had to learn it myself. The busier you are, the more you achieve in life. The way you learn is by doing, getting involved, and handing responsibilities. So don’t spend time worrying about how you’re going to handle the workload of being an upperclassman, get a part time job and learn what the keys to multitasking are, how to connect with adults, and how to always be one step ahead. The secret is staying busy, even when you’re not asked to, and always communicating with those around you.