Declassified School Survival Guide

How to enjoy your four years of high school

  • High school isn’t like a movie Something that’s very important to know before starting high school is that it’s not at all like the movies. Your whole lunch period won’t break out into song and dance like in High School Musical, but I can assure you that there are no “burn books” like in Mean Girls. Having these false interruptions of high school cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety. High school is very similar to middle school, except there are more students and teachers. (And no, the lunch doesn’t get better)

 

  • Make new friends This is something you’ve been told since kindergarten, but it’s still very relevant in high school. While you may stay close to some of your friends throughout high school, chances are a lot of them will drift off into other friend groups, and that’s completely fine! Branching out to different social groups and having a wide variety of friends can be very rewarding in times of need. Make sure you have true friends by your side for when your sixth grade homecoming date is “too popular” for you.

 

  • Balance your social life and school work Staying up all night studying for a Calculus test when you could be with your friends at the championship basketball game is no fun. But it’s also not okay to completely abandon your school work to go to parties every weekend. Finding a balance in which you can be social with your friends and still make good grades is the key to having an amazing, yet academically successful high school experience. (I say 65% school work, 35% social life)

 

  • Get into the habit of studying If you’re the kind of person to never study or take notes, then this is a wake up call. To finish high school with good grades, benchmark on the ACT, pass all your finals, and get into your dream college, you’re going to have to buckle down and study. Teachers in high school won’t remind you that you have assignments missing or cut you slack if you fail a test. Staying organized, studying often, and not procrastinating will help you finish high school with ease.

 

  • Be outgoing While the saying “step out of your comfort zone” is very cliché and over used, it’s so true! Trying new activities; such as joining clubs, participating in sports, and volunteering for community service projects, are a few ways to branch out and test your boundaries. In the process, you may discover an unknown talent and meet people who you wouldn’t have otherwise. Plus, being active in your community and school looks good on college applications.

 

  • Don’t give into peer pressure It’s excepted that over a summer – especially the summer between eighth and ninth grade – you’re going to change a lot. Changing to better yourself is always a good thing, but changing for someone else isn’t. You don’t need to change how you dress, what you like, or do things you don’t want to just to impress people.

 

  • Don’t wish for it to be over The first two years of high school might seem slow moving, but trust me, the last two fly by. You might think that you want it to be over, but after you graduate and you’re out in the “real world”, you’ll wish for all the moments back; the good and the bad.

 

Hannah Adams is 17 and a junior at Letcher County Central. She is very influenced by the Arts and has been since elementary school. She enjoys reading, writing, and creating various genres of art, such as paper crafting, knitting, sewing, and more. She hopes to get a degree in Journalism and work at Disney World.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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