High school offers many unique opportunities for students to learn about themselves, build relationships, and explore new things. Unfortunately, so often amid the din of student organizations trying to recruit you for various activities and committees shoving events in your face, it’s easy to become confused about what to try or attend. To help you navigate all the activities, opportunities, and experiences you’ll be exposed to in high school, we’ve compiled the ultimate high school bucket list (inspired by The Jessica Martin’s) featuring the most fun and engaging events to go to and things to try!
Freshman year fun
Freshman year is a time of great growth and learning as you transition from middle to high school. You can become acquainted with your new environment and build relationships with your peers by doing the following during your first year.
- Write a letter to yourself: Use this note to reflect on who you are as you start your high school journey. Once completed, seal the letter and save it to open on graduation day to see how you grew from a humble freshman to mighty senior.
- Join a club: Clubs are a great way to pursue your interests and meet other likeminded students, most of whom are in other grades and can help guide you through your first year of high school.
- Attend a sports event: Athletic games are a great way for students to come together and face a common enemy: the rival high school. Sporting events also help you get into the school spirit!
- Join in on homecoming festivities: Homecoming is a great way to experience multi-generational school pride as you interact with current students and alumni and participate in fun activities.
- Go to a school dance: School dances, like a homecoming dance, are a great way to hang out with friends and relax after a long week of school. There’s nothing like blowing off steam on the dance floor.
Sophomore year spirit
Once sophomore year arrives, you may think you are automatically more mature than you were last year and there are no new experiences left. But that simply isn’t true. Sophomore year of high school is still a time of great growth and self-reflection. Continue to deepen your involvement, build relationships, and expose yourself to new things by trying the following activities.
- Attend a school play: School plays are often overlooked as community functions despite all the hard work many students put into them. Attend a production to support your peers and experience all your school has to offer—you may even start to look forward to them every year!
- Join a team: Now that you’re a sophomore and have better time management skills, it’s a great time to try out for a team or individual sport. You’ll not only build discipline and get some exercise but develop new friendships and add to your résumé.
- Join a club that challenges you: If you aren’t the most athletic person, have no fear—there are other extracurricular options to challenge you. Whether it’s the mock trial, Model UN, or robotics team, there’s likely a club that piques your interest.
- Write for a school publication: Writing an article for the school newspaper or fiction for a literary magazine is a great way to improve your writing skills while keeping your schoolmates up to date on important events or entertaining them with your prose.
Related: Top 3 Tips for Finding Extracurricular Activities in High School
Junior year jaunts
Junior year is often billed as “the big year” for high school students. In this year of heightened stress and responsibilities involving the college search, the following fun activities can be a good diversion.
- Go on a school trip: Many schools offer spring break trips as an add-on to a class or as standalone options to introduce students to new places. These trips are a great way to experience the world while enjoying time with your friends.
- Tour a college: During junior year, the college process begins to ramp up. Start touring colleges to gain a sense of different types of schools you could attend and what suits you well. Starting this exploration junior year will help make the application process less hectic during senior year.
- Join student government: Student government is another way to contribute to your school community. Using this platform, you can advocate for change in your school, create helpful initiatives, and develop your leadership skills.
- Start a club: If you feel like your school lacks a certain student group that would benefit others, this is the perfect time to create it yourself! Leading a club is a great way to give back to the school community that has given you so much and boost your college applications at the same time.
Senior year sentiments
The final year of your high school career is a bittersweet one. The excitement of moving on to new horizons is mixed with the sadness of leaving friends and family behind—not to mention all the memories you made along the way. Enjoy your last high school moments by partaking in these events during your senior year.
- Your last homecoming: Make sure you go to homecoming senior year to celebrate the school you will soon be leaving. Homecoming is also an opportunity to meet alumni and learn about their experiences post-graduation for a glimpse at your potential future.
- Final lunch: Even if you rarely eat lunch in the school cafeteria, you should do it on your last day of school. This meal will be a final chance to sit around the table and hang out with your nearest and dearest friends—and the school community at large—before jetting off on your next adventure.
- Senior prom: This one doesn’t need much explanation. Senior prom is a night to celebrate you and all your accomplishments, plus hit the dance floor with your friends one last time. Enjoy it!
- High school graduation: It’s not like anyone needs a reminder to go to graduation since it is the capstone of your high school experience. This is a day to celebrate your accomplishments with family and friends, so make sure to really take in the moment while you’re in it and even throw a party!
- Open your freshman letter: When all is said and done on graduation day, open the letter you wrote at the start of freshman year and reflect upon how far you’ve come. (Then get excited about where you’ll go from here!)
Related: Stop! You Need to Make a Bucket List Before Senior Year Starts
High school is simultaneously a difficult and exciting time, full of opportunities to make lifelong memories. This list will help you harness all your academic journey has to offer and experience high school to the fullest. You don’t have to do everything; what matters is that you try something new every year. So get out there and start checking things off your high school bucket list!
You don’t have to wait until junior year to start prepping for college! Double-up on your bucket lists and start checking things off our ultimate College Planning Checklist as early as freshman year.
