Hello, I’m a new user in Reddit and I decided to ask for advice. I’m currently fifteen years old and starting high school in September. From what ive learned from junior high, it’s most likely not gonna be like the movies and books. None of my friends will be coming with me and I also am an introvert, so I’m not the best at social interactions. I also know of the credit system, and know I have to get enough to graduate. I am terrible at math and am unable to work well in classrooms for some reason. So anyone who have gone through high school, could you please give me some advice on how to survive high school?
3 comments
Try to get involved in after school activities. If your grades are gonna be an issue then look into tutoring or anything after school to get help. Get yourself busy and involved, easier to find things to talk about as you start high school. Don’t rush anything, just keep looking into things you can do and pick your best options.
I wish you the absolute best. Some advice: join a club and explore your extracurricular interests! It’s a great way to make strong friendships. Additionally, talk to each of your teachers. I know it sounds silly but participate in class, chit chat after class, say hi in the halls, etc. it makes learning easier when you’re doing it with a friend 🙂
On the subject of friends… I dunno. You can make some of the strongest friendships of your life In night school, but these friendships require experienced and nurturing and upkeep. Also, not every friend you meet is meant to stay in your life forever. Do what you will with that.
Get into music. My fucking god if you take one piece of advice from me it’s to find some way in to music, whether that’s a genre or album you like, or even playing or singing. Music during high school is such a critical component of adolescence, and will quite literally shape your memeories of this period in your life from years on. I got deeeep
Into music in high school, which was my genesis of my love of music. Fucking still into it. I cannot stress this enough: find a genre of music you like, can be any genre, and just dive in. Listen to full albums though I beg you; it’s a more complete experience.
I’m going into my junior year of high school and I mentor younger kids who are going into high school, so I have plenty of advice. Here’s my list of stuff I tell kids (it’s pretty lengthy, but it’s all good advice):
**Note: Some of these may vary depending on the social climate of your school, but they can still hold up on a surface level. Things like fights and teacher leniency are a good example because not everybodys school has cool tea hers amd lots of fights. Adjust advice to the needs of your school**
– It will be nerve-wracking walking into the high school for the very first time, on my first day of 9th grade I stood paralyzed in the middle of the hallway for about 30 seconds because I had literally never seen a school that big before, but it will be okay
– The teachers are pretty lenient toward the freshman about tardiness during the first week or two because they know yall are getting used to the school
– If your middle school had fights, prepare to see a new level of fights. Also, don’t record the fights or you can get into legal trouble
– Don’t skip class, it’s not worth it
– If you see someone vaping/smoking/etc in the bathroom, no you didn’t. Snitches aren’t tolerated in high school (in most cases, obviously if someone is like being assualted or bullied then you should tell someone, but for small stuff like what was listed it’s just not worth it)
– Keep yourself up to date about graduation requirements. Yes, they can be confusing, but they are very important to know. Too many people have to repeat senior year or take classes over the summer because they didn’t meet requirements they didn’t know they had to meet, which sucks because you can’t walk at graduation if you don’t meet all of the requirements
– There is a ghost in the history hallway of every high school, no matter where you live. His name is Vincent, he’s chill, but if you hear him screaming just ignore it. Or else.
– Read the school code of conduct. Typically, it’s on the website of your school, but if it’s not then I’d suggest going to the front office or counseling office and seeing if they have a (up to date) copy
– There will be people who make fun of you and talk down to you because you’re a freshman. Those people are usually sophomores, however there are some (not a lot) of juniors and seniors who will do that too. I got *many* disgusted looks from people when they found out I was a freshman. I’ve had people be nice to me while making small talk and then do a full 180 when they found out I was a freshman. Do not take those people seriously. In my experience, people who make fun of freshman for being freshman are shallow
– For the love of all things holy, *DO NOT* stand in the bathroom with your friends talking and doing nothing. If you do that, you automatically suck. No one likes that person, you’re prevent the people in the stalls from actually using the toilet because they’re shy in public restrooms and don’t want other people hearing them do their business
– Be aware of your surroundings. High schools are a collection of hundreds of kids who have *ZERO* spacial awareness. PE is the place where this applies the most, but keep this mind in your everyday schedule as well
– Follow this rule when it comes to dating: If the grades don’t touch, neither should you. This means, if a person is more than 2 years older than you, do not date them. It’s weird. For example: If you are a freshman, do not date a junior or a senior. They are too old. Sophomores are fine to date if you’re a freshman, the grades touch. The same applies no matter what grade you’re in. If you’re a sophomore, no dating seniors, if you’re a junior, no dating freshman, etc, etc. This isn’t a school rule just a social thing
– Be nice to the janitorial staff, lunch ladies, librarians, IT people, etc. It’ll come in handy, trust me
– If you bump into someone in the hallway, apologize and keep moving. It doesn’t matter who bumped into who first, just say sorry and keep walking. Doesn’t matter if the other person didn’t apologize, doesn’t matter if the other person cared that you apologized, just say sorry. It’s better to apologize and not have the person care than to not apologize and possibly have the other person start cussing you out
– Charge. Your. Laptop. If your school issues you laptops to take home and use throughout the school year, remember to charge them every night. The batteries on the laptops *suck* and they will loose their charge throughout the night if they aren’t plugged in. Also, try not to loose/break your laptop/charger. They cost a lot to replace
– Optional, and only should be considered if there’s a theft problem at your school, but put a lock on your bookbag. Nothing terribly obvious and big, probably just a small combination lock that you can get Staples or something. My laptop chargers got stolen *twice* freshman year and after that I kept my bookbag locked to prevent it from happening again
– You will meet people that you hate in a way you didn’t know that you could hate. Not good or bad, just new. But, for every bad there is a good, because you will find people that you will love more than you ever loved before. Whether that be platonic love, romantic love, or something else entirely
– Lastly: Explore! Explore who are and what you like! Experiment with different clothing styles and makeup and whatever ways to express yourself. I’m not going to say high school is the best years of your life, because it’s not, but it is a great time to explore your interests. You are going to do and say cringe and stupid things and that’s okay, it happens to all of us, just make sure that it doesn’t hurt other people. And if it does, be a good human and take accountability and apologize. Doing those basic things will get you far with people
This list is ever expanding, so if you ever come back here and see stuff that I didn’t initially include that’s because I added it. Good luck! You’ll do great!