I bet I can make you stop reading with just one sentence: Enrollment and Four-Year Planning dates are coming up.

Still here? You rock. If I hadn’t written this, I probably never would have gotten past that first sentence.

Four-Year Planning is so much more important than we give it credit for. I’m in my junior year now, and I seriously regret giving that piece of paper approximately 15 percent of my attention during that Tiger Time (Advisory) in 2009. I slapped down that I would take every single AP class offered (literally) and use those as my electives. Hello, unrealistic! And, without a plan to guide me as I enroll each year, I’m constantly referring back to the Course Description Guide (issued in February of 2008, back when I was in eighth grade) and the graduation requirements.

Enrolling has become a lot more work and stressful than it needs to be.

Without that guide, I thought it would be a good idea to not take health sophomore year, like the majority of my grade. Guess I thought it would just go away. Wrong. It didn’t go away, and now guess who gets to take health – as a senior – with all of the sophomores? This kid, right here. I could bore you with the other ways I’ve messed up my enrollment over the years, but we’d be here all day.

The point is, enrollment may seem like a waste of time, but if you pay attention and get it right the first time, you’ll save yourself headaches and hours in the counseling office later.