And a tradition has begun! I made a post like this exactly one year ago, except the advice was for Freshmen. Now I personally think there was more to cover last year as adapting to a new school, new people and new environment is very challenging and I wanted to share some advice and shine some light on topics that you may have needed reassurance about.
I feel so old, now being officially an upper class men. I can say that freshman year was a lot easier than sophomore, not saying that sophomore is impossible to do well in. The work gets a fair amount more difficult in certain subjects (personally it was math for me). I don't mean to scare anyone with that statement, I have still been able to maintain my honor roll so it hasn't been overly difficult (don't worry)!
Social Advice~
1. Main word of advice is OPEN UP TO NEW PEOPLE! The friends you have had in grade nine will still be there but opening up won't hurt. Try talking to someone in your classes that you think you would get along with or have something in common with.
2. Your grade nine friends and you may drift apart. Let it happen! Some things aren't meant to be. It's good to have change and that way you can get rid of people that don't "need" you.
Studying & Work Advice~
1. You will find that some subjects require more studying than others; your stronger subjects you might not need to cram for, your weaker subjects you might have to spend an hour studying on one topic.
2. Find someone in your class to take notes for you if you miss a day. I get that you can't help being sick or having a trip on that day but makes sure you take responsibility and ask the teacher for any missed work. They aren't going to make sure you have the notes and handouts from that day. Speak to your teacher or someone in the class for the notes and homework.
3. Notes are the best thing to review and study off of. However you learn best, whether it's: diagrams, examples, pictures, anything, do what makes it easier for you to remember and understand.
General Advice~
1. Try not to stress about that test or project or presentation coming up. Review notes, do practice tests, plan out your workload! I can't tell you how important it is not to procrastinate finishing your assignments (I'm guilty of it too). I had these English novel studies and one of them was to prove the fantastic elements, I did the project on Google Slides and there was a total of about 45 slides filled with information by the time I finished. I planned on finishing 5 slides every day to make sure I wasn't falling behind and would be able to finish on time without stressing about it.
2. Practice presentations where you only need a few cue cards and can remember most of the presentation. Also, put a few points of keynotes on the cue cards to get you back on track and remind to what to say.
3. Everything is only temporary. Don't stress about that little fight with your best friend, or you friend choosing a boy over you and everything in between. Your marks don't determine your worth or tell you your success. Focus on your happiness and try not to overthink the little things that won't matter in a day, week, month or year from then.
That's a wrap on this advice post! Try to remember that one again, high school only lasts so long, try to make the best of the situations you are put in. You might have some bad classes or bad teachers but it's only that one part of the day, you'll feel so accomplished to have gone through that class and survived. Just remind yourself that high school is soo much better than elementary school. Though it may be difficult you can make it through!
-Sincerely,
A Junior
