Want to Know How to Survive High School? Look at this!

Hey guys! I hope the school year has been going well for you all! For me... well, you know the routine. :D

However, I haven't given up hope! In fact, I've come up with a neat list to help myself get through the year, and I want to share it with you all!


I hope that this advice I give will help you as it is currently helping me. Although I only came up with it last week, I think it's a great list that every person in high school should follow!

10 Tips to Your Survival in High School:

1.) Prioritize

I'm not sure if you're an unorganized person or not, but this step really helps. What you need to do is find out which things are a priority and which things are not quite as important. What's due tomorrow? What's due the rest of the week? What's due in the upcoming weeks?  You want to start with the thing that has the most immediacy, meaning the thing that's due tomorrow, and is worth a whole bunch of points. Start out with that, then work your way down to what's not as important. By doing this, you save yourself a whole lot of stress than by trying to start everything all at once.

2.) Set Yourself Up For Success.

This one might relate the most to you. If you care so much about your future, then why aren't you doing anything that will help you get to where you want in life? Sitting around may feel great, at the moment, but what about that awful feeling of embarrassment and shame you get when you realize that you've missed a whole bunch of assignments, and you procrastinated so much while everyone else is turning in their assignments? It does not feel good to be left out like that. Don't lie to yourself, you will NOT be able to finish it later, because something really important might come up and then you really wouldn't be able to finish your work. Don't let it get to that point. Do the work the instant you get home, or even do it at lunch if you can (this is my new tactic and it's been working well so far) so that you won't have to worry about it when you get home. It feels better when you know that you've completed your work than knowing that you've got tons of work left.

3.) Get a Good Work Space.

This is vital if you want to be successful. If you're in an environment where you know you can't work well, don't shrug it off and blame the environment for your problems-- MOVE! Go somewhere that you know you'll be able to work without any distractions, like the library. When my therapist suggested that I go to the library to do my work, I cringed. Not because I don't like going to the library, but because I felt like it was just a terrible idea. I didn't even consider it until I actually tried it, and guess what? It worked. I was able to focus on my homework and not the internet or the television and I actually felt good that I had gotten my work done. I got into a place that would make it hard for me to procrastinate, and I suggest that you do the same.

4.) Don't freak out.

This was a big one for me. I always got anxious about not completing my work and worrying about my future and about how I wouldn't accomplish my goals, and yada yada. Realize that it's going to be okay, and it isn't the end of the world -- or rather your world-- if you don't complete one homework assignment. If you're worrying all the time, you won't have any time to get your homework done and if you're pushing it off to the side all the time (which can be another form of anxiety), you still won't have the time to do what you're supposed to be doing. Find the right level of motivation, and stick with that. 

5.) Be realistic and/or strategic. 

This step ties in with Step 2. You need to realize that not everyone is perfect; not everyone makes straight As or makes it to valedictorian of their class. This is perfectly fine. You, however, need to do what's best for you. If you know you aren't going to finish editing that entire essay by midnight, then don't push yourself and see if you can go beyond your limit. You have to set up a common goal, and not try to be perfect all the time.

6.) Don't Beat Yourself Up.

Again, nobody is perfect. If you didn't get the score you wanted to get or that you worked really hard to get a perfect grade on but you missed a few questions, it's perfectly fine (in this case, you can be perfect). There's always going to be another day to work on a new assignment. My teacher says that he doesn't do "right now's" but he does "next times". This means that you're always going to have another chance. One measly essay or test does not determine your fate. Just learn from your mistakes and move on. But just because you get another chance, does  not mean that you should take advantage of it.  Don't let your procrastination tie into what you're trying to accomplish, and don't turn it into an excuse. You've still got deadlines to follow.

7.) Reach Out.

You didn't think you could do all of this by yourself, did you? It's important to ask for help, no matter how much of the information you think is tedious and dull. If you're not understanding the content, why let yourself suffer? Use you worrying time to ask the teacher questions. Invest in a tutor, grab a study buddy. Do anything that will help you not suffer this stuff alone. Most importantly, get someone who can hold you accountable for your work. For instance, if you were to get a study buddy, that buddy could call you up and make sure that you're doing you're assignments because you both will be responsible for making sure that the other is doing their work. That way, you won't be able to give up so easily or procrastinate as easily. Since this is your last year, you really want to make sure that you're getting help from someone else, not just because of the work, but to make sure you are doing what you're supposed to be doing (parents are not very helpful with this step. It'll just feel like they're nagging you).

8.) KNOW AND HONOR YOUR LIMITS!

I love this one. This is my favorite step of them all and it ties in with step 4. Sometimes a person can be so caught up with trying to make something perfect that they forget that they have an actual life besides school. If you cannot make stay up any longer or if the clock's saying it's almost three am, you know there's a problem. Sometimes you just have to let things be. If they don't work out, of course you'll feel bad, but sometimes that's just the way things work. Sometimes you have to throw in the towel. This is cliche, but, Life really isn't a race. If it was, who would you be racing against and what for? There's no point in trying to beat someone at your own game, you know? If you need to stop, then stop. Don't keep going if you know you'll collapse at the finish line. How can life be good for you if you're too tired or stressed out to enjoy it? Be happy with what you have, and recognize that you are trying your best, and that should be just enough.

9.) Always Try Your BEST. Period. 

This one kind of explains itself, but I will elaborate on it. It's not the kid who gets straight As and answers all the questions correctly that gets noticed. The person who tries their hardest, and keeps pushing but recognizes where they need to stop is the person who's more praised. When a person recognizes their own limits and shows their dedication to something, that is so much more meaningful than being the one who's always right. It's the person who knows that they have faults and tries to fix them that's good. It makes that person so much more real than the guy who just gets everything right. And frick the people who think they're better than everyone else because they get the best grades. Newsflash, college is almost nothing like high school. In fact, it's ten times harder, so just because everything is working for them now doesn't mean it'll be like that after high school. You do a lot more learning and knowing yourself when you realize a fault and you fix it. It makes you much more real of a person, and people will admire that.

10.) GET YOUR BUTT IN THE CHAIR! 

This should have been listed as number one because it's really the most important one of them all. How are you going to follow any of these steps or get what you want in life if you don't put in the work for it? Get yourself in the CHAIR! Not the computer chair, the restaurant chair, the roller coaster chair--- THE STUDY CHAIR. Yeah, it sounds so dull and mundane, but if you're expecting the car to work, you need to put in the keys, you know? Sit down and don't wait until the last minute.