Be organized
I think being organized in school and at home is one of the most important steps to making your high school years less stressful. If you're disorganized, you'll lose track of papers, assignments and end up way more stressed than you should be.
First, get a planner or an app on your phone (i.e Homework App) where you can record all your work, tests and assignments. This will be a lifesaver because no one can remember all the homework each teacher told them about, so ultimately you'll forget and the next day will be in a world of trouble with twice as much work to do the following night. Also, use COLORS, colors are essential when it comes to keeping my notes organized because I can never study off of notes written in pencil -it gets me confused and bored.
Another thing you can do to stay more organized is to buy small binders for each class and then get dividers to put inside the binders. Label each divider with a subsection to that subject and then place all your handouts and notes into your dedicated binder. Lastly, make use of your locker! I went in to this school year thinking I would never use my locker, but then I felt how heavy all my textbooks are and decided my locker is going to be very useful.
The next tip is to get involved in sports teams, clubs, events, dances, etc. All of these activities are a great way for you to meet people (if you are new) or get to know people that aren't inside of your friend group. They also add an extra layer to high school - gets you active, lets you compete, bond with your teammates and enjoy school life. Coming home and doing homework or studying everyday would be so boring and make every day drag by; which is why I try to get involved with school life as much as possible by attending all dances, events, football games and joining sports or clubs. For instance, I am on the dance team at school so we perform at all the football games during halftime and it also means that I meet a bunch of people before starting school.
Have School Spirit
At my school we are known for our school spirit and everyone goes all out on all the spirit days, homecoming week and basically throughout the school year. If you have no school spirit then all the fun football games and spirit days will make you feel annoyed rather than participating in them and having a great time. Having spirit will also make you more approachable to people and show that you aren't afraid to wear something crazy or make a fool of yourself because after all everyone is during spirit days!
Don't Overwhelm Yourself with Work
School = work and work and work. However, you can limit yourself to less work by not overwhelming yourself with too many classes. This may not be true for everyone's school schedule but for my school and many other schools in America, you get to select your classes. Now, you still have to meet all the necessary requirements to graduate in four years but through this system it helps to limit your classes. For instance, it is nice to push yourself by taking AP classes but instead of trying to take three or four in a year take two and that way you can just focus on those.
Also this year I have several free periods and study halls during the week. During these free periods or homework periods I can catch up on homework and then I have less to do when I get home from sport. Take advantage of these periods (if you have them) because it will make a huge difference in the amount of work you have at home.
Stay Positive
Lastly, stay positive and happy! No one likes to be around someone who is negative all the time and views school in only a pessimistic way. Be open and positive to trying new things, meeting new people, studying hard and enjoying high school. You will never be able to have four amazing high school years if you aren't positive and happy.
I hope you enjoyed the third part to my back to school series! Remember if you want to not only survive high school, but make it the best four years of your life: be organized, get involved, have school spirit, don't overwhelm yourself with work/classes, and stay positive! Till next time xx
