UGHHHH!! I know what you’re thinking, Who wants to talk about school? Unfortunately, it’s around the corner (or may have started for some of you already) and since we can’t avoid it, we might as well be prepared for it. Going into high school can be really intimidating, I’ve been there, so I wanted to be the older sister for you and give you some advice to make your freshman year a little easier, especially since we all know how hard it can be to ask our parents. Here are some DO’s and DON’Ts of high school.
DO: Become close with your teachers and build a solid teacher-student relationship. If you are nice to your teacher or joke around with them then you’ll start to feel more comfortable to ask them questions and review before a test. I’ve always hated math class but my freshman year I had such a great relationship with my math teacher and wasn’t scared to ask him for help and he made it a point to see how I was doing because I never was rude or obnoxious. It was my best class, by far, and I ended up with a 99 on my final exam.
DON’T: Slack off because your friends are. It’s not cool to look dumb because other kids do. I promise you will thank me for focusing in school. Don’t worry about partying and skipping out on studying to be “popular.”
DO: Put as much effort in possible. I wish that I thought about how colleges see ALL FOUR years of high school, not just junior year.
DON’T: Stress if you can’t get an A in a class, if you are working hard it will pay off. Colleges want to see improvement over the course of your high school career so just make sure you put 100% effort into each class.
DO: Take a study hall if you have the opportunity to, and use it wisely. I was so lucky to have a study hall and made sure to get all my work done during it. As teenagers we can get really busy after school with sports, clubs, or just maintaining a social life and it can be hard to find the time to do all of that with piles of homework. I always got my homework done during school so I didn’t have to do it when I got home (so I could watch Netflix whoops!) extra tip: if you are lazy like me and have work due in a class after study hall then you can do it during free time instead of at home!
DON’T: Be scared of upperclassmen. Honestly, upperclassmen do NOT care about what the freshman are doing. That might sound harsh but they are worried about applying to colleges and their own problems so don’t stress about what they think of you! Anyways, they’re gonna be gone in no time xo.
DO: Get involved. So many people think that clubs at school can be kinda dumb (I was one of them!), but I regret not being apart of groups my freshman year. Going into next year I’m going to get involved in my school more because it’s a really great spot to make more friends and impress colleges in the future.
DON’T: Stress too much, high school is only 4 years of your life! Get the experience, have fun, work hard, and remember everything happens for a reason.