#studywithbread

Hello! I finished up my freshmen year and I’m now moving onto being a sophomore. I thought I’d write you some tips based on my experiences since school is already close for some people. 

First Day Advice:

First and foremost, relax! The first week is bound to be hectic but after that, everything goes relatively smoothly. Honestly, when I went to go to class on the first day, I ended up walking into three different classrooms before finding the right one. I had no idea where I was going and if I made one slight change in my commuting from class to class, I would be completely lost. But of course everyone else was doing the same thing-panicking and getting lost. 

Don’t panic if you don’t know where your classes are going to be! I’m not sure about other schools but at mine, in middle school you would tour the high school three times. Still after those three times, I could barely remember where the stairs were. I promise that after the first day, things can only improve from there. By a week later, I knew where all the important classes and some extra rooms were. 

Seniors may be dicks to you. At my school, this ‘treat freshmen horribly’ trend only lasted the first day. After that, as long as you don’t threaten to punch someone in the face, you’ll be fine. 

Different rules- most of which aren’t even followed. Middle school is by far the strictest when it comes to rules. By high school, most of the rules disappear. For example, you have to have a clear water bottle because you can only have water. You know those clear sparkling flavored waters? Those aren’t allowed. Supposedly, you can only have water in my high school, but 75% of the girls bring in Dukin coffees every day. Nobody really says anything unless you have a strict teacher. 

Academic Advice:

For the love of god, do your homework! It affects your grade a lot if you miss a bunch of assignments and get zeros. At the same time, if you miss only a handful of them for the whole semester, don’t stress cause it won’t ruin your grade. 

Do well on tests and all that jazz. Same as before: don’t bomb multiple tests and quizzes and expect a good grade. But if you get a few tests back that weren’t up to your standard, don’t worry. Also if your teacher allows it, retake it or do corrections. 

Balance your studying time. Again, you’ll have to try and find a happy medium. It’s good to over study rather than under study, but it can wear on you quickly. Don’t stay up studying ‘till midnight for three nights straight because you’ll feel awful in the morning. And make sure you study the correct information because all that time would be wasted if you take the test only to realize that it’s on nothing you prepared for. 

Self Care:

Sleep is so important. I’ve never been one to follow a strict sleep schedule and I would pay for that on some days. I’d recommend 7-8 hours each night but if you can get 9+ that’s even better. Only get less than 6 hours if absolutely necessary. 

Take a day out of your week to fully relax. Do whatever relaxes you. Take a long, hot shower or soak in the bath with candles and a bath bomb. Cook dinner for your family or bake a mug cake. Draw pretty pictures or doodle in your bullet journal. Sleep a little longer than normal or take a quick nap. Have your ‘me day’ be as important as acing that test. 

Have a daily routine to wash your face, whether it be in the morning to wake you up or in the evening to feel refreshed. You don’t even need a face wash, although I’d recommend one. Try and wash your face every day or every other day. Trust me, it feels nice. 

Friends, Family & Relationships:

Let’s be real, you're probably going to lose a few friends. Drama is sprinkled everywhere in freshmen year. Between grades, relationships, family troubles and a bunch of other short-term problems, losing friends is something that’s likely to happen. Now don’t freak out, it's not like your friends are going to leave you and drop like flies. Who knows, you may not lose any. The first year of high school is also a good chance to see who your friends really are. 

But at the same time, you’ll make a bunch of friends. Seriously. I’m quite the introvert and haven’t made any new friends in years but I think I made around five friends freshman year.

Don’t be afraid of older kids. For my computer class, I was the only 9th grader. There was only two 10th grader, one 11th grader and the rest of them were 12th graders. Honestly that was one of my favorite classes. I obviously didn’t belong in this group of mostly rowdy senior guys but they were all so nice to me. I later learned that that computer class was stupidly easy and was basically a study period where you got college credit for doing nothing.  

Relationships- tread carefully. I’ve been told multiple times not to date in high school but I still disagree. Be cautious of who you date. Seniors are a big no no. See, I liked a senior and he liked me back, but we both knew we shouldn’t date (he was 18, I was 15) and he was leaving for college soon. We didn’t date, but being friends was good enough. Also, judge their personalities. Falling for someone who is a bad person or is manipulating is going to make life so much harder for you. 

Random Advice:

Bring a water bottle every day to class

Have an emergency bag with a snack inside :)

Eat a little in between classes if you can 

Make your lunch light because you may not have a lot of time to eat

Have a planner!! 

Sit in the front or the middle of the classroom 

Make sure you always have a few pens/pencils with you

Try and have at least one friend in every class

Explore clubs and other extracurricular activities 

Participate if you feel comfortable doing so 

Learn to get over grudges and beef with others

You may miss your old middle school life, but learn that you have to move on 

Remember headphones for when the nice teachers let you use them

^ Bring an extra pair for your friends who don’t have any of their own

If you're gonna screw up, then screw up now while you still have time

Oooh! This is really cool! Thanks for sending this in! 

1. Japan

Almost everything about Japan makes me smile! The food, the people, the language, the culture, the memories I made while I was there - all of it!

2. My cats

I absolutely adore my cats. I’d give them the world if they asked it of me. I treat them like my best friends, so we’re very close. There’s nothing better than cuddling with them. 

3. Learning

I love learning new things, whether it be in school or in my daily life. Being able to apply what I’ve learned to whatever I’m doing is one of the best feelings ever, in my opinion. Knowledge is power. 

4. Dressing up. 

I love wearing heels and a skirt and blouse or dress. I look much better in sophisticated clothing than I do in jeans and a t-shirt, so I try to take advantage of any opportunity when I can dress up. I feel very confident when I dress up. 

5. Receiving notifications on tumblr. 

Thank you <3

1) synchronised swimming 

2) music 

3) aesthetic pics, also photography in general

4) friends