High school is often referred to as the best and worst years of a person's life. On the one hand, you have loads of academic stress, strenuous extracurricular activities, and the potential anxieties of being just a few years away from adulthood, but on the other hand, you have freedom, invaluable time with your friends, and the excitement of your future on the horizon.

From intense tests like the SATs or GCSEs to getting hyped with your friends at football games, it's a high-mileage time in a young adult's life. However you feel about it, though, we can all agree that it's a time to remember. We've compiled a list of 12 must-dos to have the most memorable high school experience.

#1: Study Dates with Friends

Because you can't spell high school without, well, school, let's start with an academically helpful and super fun way to spend a day. If you and your friends have the same classes and have a big exam coming up, hang out at the library or at one of your houses.

While it's true that studying is best done without distractions, findings have also shown that studying with a companion holds you accountable and is great motivation. You can take turns quizzing each other, teaching each other different topics to practice active recall, or even just do your work independently and appreciate each other's company.

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#2: Join a Club

Clubs are a super fun way to get involved on campus, make friends, and they can even help you stand out on college applications. What's great about clubs is that you can find one for pretty much any interest. From volunteering to pre-professional to honor societies to ping-pong, you can find your people.

Bonus points if you become a cabinet member, which is a perfect way to build leadership skills while supporting a group you believe in and are passionate about.

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#3: Memory Boxes

Are you sentimental and love to collect physical memories? If so, memory boxes are perfect for you! You can use them to store Polaroids and photos (more on that later), notes passed from friends, school event ticket stubs, birthday cards, the program from your school musical—whatever is important to you.

It can also be a lot of fun to spend an afternoon painting and decorating your boxes with friends. Throw on some music, have a picnic, and create great memories with your classmates.

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#4: Make Traditions

Much like the Plastics in Mean Girls, friend group traditions can be a ton of fun. While you don't need to require a specific dress code every day, something like getting ice cream after big tests or matching your outfits on spirit days can be great for strengthening friendships and building a strong community.

Traditions are also a good way to keep healthy friendships, like if you had a pact that you both apologize and hug after an argument.

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#5: Take Pictures

This one may be the best way to maximize your high school experience and the best way to remember it. Whether on your phone or with a camera, snapping pictures is the thing to do. While, as I said, phones work perfectly well, getting and using a digital camera or Polaroid can make it even more fun, and physical photographs are a good thing to add to your memory box.

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#6: Go to School Events

Even if you aren't interested in sports, going to school games is a ton of fun. It's often less about the actual sport and more about getting hyped up, dressing up if there's a theme, and spending time with your friends. I know I've had a great time attending all sorts of things—from orchestra concerts to musicals and everything in between.

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#7: Vlog

Vlogs are essentially a personal video time capsule. You don't have to post them to enjoy; you can just take videos throughout the day with your friends to look back on. Plus, doing things "for the camera" is a surefire way to keep life interesting and be motivated to try something new. If you do decide to post them, you can cultivate an audience from your daily activities.

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#8: Time Capsule

Instead of a digital one, make a physical one! Much like a memory box, fill it with mementoes from your first year of high school and add some letters to your future self from you, your friends, family, teachers, and parents. Some span schools (schools that serve more than just high school) even have this as a required program in eighth grade to be opened at senior breakfast. It's easy, it's fun, and it's sure to bring a little mist to your eyes.

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#9: Decorate Your Locker

Lockers serve as your home base for the school year, and the right one can give you a huge leg up. A good locker can have a whiteboard for messages from friends and reminders, hooks for your bags, extra supplies, and an emergency kit. All these things set you up for success both academically and personally—and bonus points if you can find them in your favorite colors or an aesthetically pleasing print.

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#10: Build Good relationships with Teachers

Teachers are the backbone of your high school years. Getting on their good side can give you some huge perks, including but not limited to: more lenient grading, extra credit opportunities, extensions, and letters of recommendation—not to mention how helpful it can be to have an advocate on campus.

Plus, it never hurts to have somewhere to sit at lunch during bad weather. The faculty you befriend don't even have to be yours; they can be club sponsors, coaches, librarians, or any support staff.

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#11: Stay on Top of Assignments

The absolute worst thing you can do is fall behind, so organization is the name of the game. Planners, agendas, and to-do lists are the most common choices, but it's about whatever works for you. Blank notebooks are a hidden gem; they're fully customizable to what works for you. You could also use an app or website to keep track of assignments, like My Study Life, Notion, or myHomework.

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#12: Make Health a Priority

Adolescence is a time of a lot of physical growth, and your body needs to be well taken care of to be able to do all you want to do. Focusing on eating well, sleeping well, and moving will take you pretty far, and it doesn't have to be boring.

Going on walks or jogs with your friends, cooking with your family, and getting a solid night routine can be fun. Romanticizing health by making recipes from Pinterest, getting cute workout clothes, and doing nightly skincare or another ritual is a fun way to motivate yourself to stay healthy as well. Remember: consistency over perfection.

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Conclusion

So there you have it. Twelve ways to savor what very well might be the craziest four years of your life. It'll be difficult and thrilling, and everything in between. The bottom line is, get involved with your school, your friends, and yourself.

High school is gonna go by pretty fast: Don't let it pass you by.