For the past several years, I have given essay assignments to my IB Precalculus and AP Calculus classes to write advice for students in the classes which would follow them. The precalculus students write to the next precalculus students; the calculus students write to the incoming freshmen whom, for the most part, they will never meet.
The students generally take the assignments quite seriously, even though some of their comments are written in a tongue-in-cheek style. The title of this section is appropriated from Ian Trulson's advice to freshmen from 2002, and I think it describes the content quite well.
I hope that you will find some guidance here that will help you make the most of your high school years and avoid at least a few of the pitfalls that those who came before you have endured.
Advice to Freshmen
I hope to fill in some of the missing years.
Advice to Precalculus students
Advice to precalculus students, 2009
I hope to fill in some of the missing years.
Advice to precalculus students, 2002
Advice to precalculus students, 2001