TIPS & TRICKS to survive high school + my classes 2019-2020

if you aren't in high school, or you're just starting out, I personally have taken it upon myself to tell you some important things that I learned during freshman year that may or may not apply to you. 

if you don't know, I'm currently in sophomore year of high school, and let me just tell you, it's ROUGH. I don't have time for a lot of things that I used to like to do anymore, such as reading and blogging. that makes me really sad but I try to fill my weekends with reading, writing, and occasional blogging, though I spent a large part of this weekend on homework. 

I'm going to try to institute a weekly schedule for both this blog and also my wattpad/writing websites that I am trying to update more on. I really want to start being more active online again like I used to.

anyways, moving on from that.

tips and tricks to survive high school.

by the way, I might have different opinions on things than you might, so please don't take offense. these are just my personal opinions to try to help the incoming freshman. 

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1. don't worry about what your peers are doing.

really, it's pointless. you may hear about your peers vaping or partying or doing drugs, but if you aren't that person, you don't need to change yourself to be like everybody else. you shouldn't be degrading your own body to please others, especially if you know personally that it's wrong. 

2. don't do drugs, kids.

this is fairly simple. it's not good for you and you should never be doing drugs AT school, especially. if you get caught, you have VERY serious consequences and it isn't worth ruining your life for. don't start and you won't get addicted. it's that simple.

3. spend time studying.

this isn't middle school anymore and things are amping up and getting harder. it's important that you set for yourself a time and place for you to study and prepare for tests and quizzes and finals. even if you're really smart and don't really need to study, reviewing a little can't hurt in either the short or the long one.

4. don't overload your schedule.

I took seven classes freshman year and I handled it. however, I had friends and peers who completely regretted taking seven classes in their first year of high school, especially because they were balancing sports and extracurriculars and sleeping. if you know that you can't handle it, there's no point in stressing yourself out in your freshman year, especially because it's not that important for colleges to see your first year of high school. (universities such as Stanford don't even look at your freshman year at all). 

5. immerse yourself in clubs and sports and extracurriculars.

I'm not an athlete; never have been, and never will be. that doesn't mean that there aren't other things to do after school/during school that are fun and beneficial. try to put yourself out there and try something new. I'm not the biggest public speaker but I actually joined Model United Nations and ended up enjoying it. though I'm not the best at it, it's a fun program that I'm really glad I attempted. if you like sports, play sports! join clubs that may not be the most popular; just do what interests you.

6. don't worry about boys/girls... basically relationships.

if you're in a happy-dappy relationship already, then good for you. but don't let your significant other weigh you down. tip: do what you want to do. you should never be doing something against your will because your boyfriend/girlfriend is making you. also, if you don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend, don't worry about it! I'm in sophomore year and I'm still living the single life. and yes, it sort of sucks. but there's always somebody out there for you, and judging from my friend's relationships, I'm sometimes glad I don't have to worry about guys. like, geez, they're confusing and can really change a person.

7. make new friends but keep as many old ones as you can.

I know it's common to lose friends. trust me, I lost a lot. but if you can, try to keep the good ones close to you because they're always nice to have. you want to have friends that you know you can trust. but don't be afraid to make new friends! I made a lot of new friends freshman year and reconnected with friends that I had started to grow apart from. meeting new people can really change a person's life, and it's important to try to make as many new friends as you can. they don't need to replace anybody or become your new best friend; they can just be other friends that you know and can confide in. all that being said, don't feel like you need to have thousands of friends. stick with who you like and who you know. 

8. take electives you actually like.

if you don't like one of the classes you chose, drop out before it's too late. I 100% regret my decisions to take journalism freshman year. I have nothing against the class but I ended up not enjoying it as much as I thought I would and have no plans to pursue it in the future. that was a waste of my time and my teacher's time and I really regret not dropping out before it was too late. I'm currently taking drama and it's the best class I have, and I wish I had taken it last year!

9. form relationships with your teachers.

yes, your freshman year teachers may not be the most important in your high school career, but you should try to form strong and healthy relationships with them because it might help you in the future. your teacher could recommend you for great opportunities, such as tutoring for volunteer hours or even for internships! when you're applying for college, you could even ask those teachers for recommendation letters, meaning you should have good relationships with them. 

10. have fun.

school may not be the most fun and exciting places in the world. however, you should try to stay positive and have a good outlook on it because you'll feel better mentally and physically if you do. there's nothing worse than going to school depressed every single day. if you can, try to find good things about school that you can focus on, and try to not think too hard about the things that you don't like.

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okay, so that was that. I hope those tips helped. these are all the main things that I learned from my freshman year of high school. I'm also going to share my classes for this year for those of you who are interested!

Latin II

English II

Honors Algebra II/Trig/PreCalc 

Chemistry

Human/Social Developments

Drama I

AP European History

thank you all for reading! please comment down ideas for future posts!

malayna