making it through high school
i’m graduating this week and i wanted to make a post of advice (academic, social, and self care) that i learned throughout high school
academic
if you have a bad teacher, read/take your own notes on the textbook! it can be tedious but it pays off on the test, since the test is most likely going to be based on the book.
do your homework and do it well. even if assignments are only 20% of your grade, doing your homework will help you so so so much on test day.
on that note, do your homework as soon as you can after school. get it over with and just think about how much more relaxed you’ll feel when it’s done (you might have to literally force yourself- just tell yourself you only have to work for five minutes, and once you start you’ll want to finish it)
don’t buy so many new school supplies!! buy a few of those Mead refillable notebooks or their flexible binders, some highlighters, and a pack of muji 0.7 pens on amazon and you should be covered.
start thinking about post high school plans early- whether it’s 2 year college, 4 year college, military, starting work, etc.
unless it’s a big project, stop doing ur homework at midnight and just go to bed. not all nights are going to be easy, but you should try to make cramming homework late at night an occasional thing
social
be loyal to your friends, you’ll be happy to have good friends later on
don’t date someone if you know you shouldn’t!!!
watch how much you drink if you go party- make it your goal to not throw up (also there’s no point if you don’t remember the night)
leave people that make you sad, it isn’t worth the drama or heartbreak
^^^ also avoid drama as much as possible (AKA don’t talk shit, don’t start shit, don’t take shit)
these are my three commandments for getting over a shitty relationship: 1) unfollow 2) block 3) delete. use them (unfollow on social media, block them so they don’t see what you post, and delete old photos and conversations. phones/social media make it so much harder to get over someone)
be friendly to everyone! you don’t need to be friends with everyone, but just be nice. high school is already hard, don’t make it worse
self care
S L E E P
find a hobby outside of school- it can be an extracurricular or just something you do at home. but find something you love (things to try: guitar/piano! learn another language online! reading! skateboarding! weight training/body scupting! running! art! etc!)
read outside of school, learn outside of school
hang out with relatives/family more. you might get annoyed by your parents at this point, but remember that you’re like the biggest thing that has happened to them. hang out with your siblings/ cousins, ask your grandparents about their childhoods and culture before it’s too late. (unless your family is abusive, this piece of advice is more for people like me whose family was good but i treated my parents badly and my grandparents died before i could get to know them. it’s just me)
make sure you eat something fresh every day- i know it’s hard to eat healthily when you’re a teenager and your friends always get mcdonalds, but jus make sure you have some fruit/vegetables every day
get a small job if you can, it feels good to make your own money. save as much as you can of it! (my rule was save hundreds, spend tens. so if i got $447 on a paycheck, i’d save $400 and spend $47. you really dont need to be spending that much at this point, saving will do more good)
there is obv. more advice you could be given, but these are some of the most important things i’ve learned throughout high school. learn from my mistakes pls and good luck!! it goes by fast
