As thousands of students return to and join Seminole High School, many are excited about what the new school year holds in terms of grades, extracurricular activities, and for many seniors: college applications.

However, even in the throes of that “new textbook smell,” many Seminole students forget one of the most important virtues to help them succeed in the new school year: organization.

Organization can be anything from where a locker is placed to how a locker is organized to how a backpack is kept clean and clutter free. While making the transition in terms of school work is hard for many former middle-schoolers, the art of utilizing a locker and backpack to their fullest potential is often the toughest task of all.

What many students do not realize is that organization is key to the high school experience because it is the linchpin that holds together the various facets of one’s social and educational life. Without a planner in which to write down assignments, a student might forget when a big project is due, thus ruing their grade. Without a clean backpack, homework, test reviews, and progress reports can easily be lost which spells only harm for students equipped with such cluttered storage. Senior Katherine Hylton says, “organization has a positive impact on a student’s grades, but only in certain doses. In the end, you get out what you put in.”

Perhaps the first step in taking control of a cluttered situation and organizing for personal benefit is to take stock of the surroundings and extent of the clutter. By realizing that there is a problem with one’s surroundings or even realizing the fact that organization is a necessary part of scholastic life, the steps to creating or restoring order are easier to accomplish. Furthermore, it is not only the management of physical objects that warrant organization, but also time. Sophomore Tamara Zishnuk says, “you also have to be able to find a balance between academics and extracurriculars so that you don’t feel too overloaded with work.”

In a world filled with overcrowded schedules that jump from one activity to the next, perhaps the best thing a student could do is keep a dedicated schedule of events to take place. With a variety of devices on the market, such as iPods, cell phones, and computers, it should be fairly easy for teenagers to keep their time organized.

The unfortunate truth is, however, that many do not even try to accomplish time management and instead rely on parents to work out every hour in the day. Junior Ravi Jindal uses technology to keep track of his time and says, “whenever I learn about an event I have to attend, either for school or something else, I pull out my phone and put in the calendar section so I have everything in one place.”

In the end, it can certainly be realized that organization is one of the most important habits for students to have. The benefits of organization reach far beyond middle school, with companies only hiring those who can efficiently get work done and who are able to manage their time.

Many students and teachers will say that organization is truly the key to being successful in high school and beyond.