HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL STUDENT
Being successful in
high school comes with a lot of patience as well as motivation. Unfortunately
there are so many distractions coming your way, sometimes it becomes hard to
say no. However, if you want to become a successful student, then you have to start
learning how to say no to these distractions. It may be hard during the school
year, and also tiring, but the hard work always pays off at the end. When you
graduate you want to graduate with honors, you want to also be remembered as a
diligent school worker. So remember, become a successful student, for that will
determine your success in the future.
Make
good use of your agenda. They give it to you for a reason. Don't only
write homework, but make sure to write down other stuff you'll need to remember
(like games, practices, study sessions, etc). In order to be a successful high
school student, you need to have the ability to stay on top of all your
activities. Use your agenda to stay organized and follow through with your
plans. Also, use your agenda to set time limits. If you're spending more than
an hour on that math assignment, you're clearly not getting it, and are only
hurting yourself. Stop, put it aside, and move on to other homework. Come back
to it later and if you still don't get it, explain what happened to your
teacher. Chances are, they'll be happy to help and not dock your grade. Just
make sure you've made an attempt to do the work.
Stay
organized. Make sure you have all the supplies you need. It may help
to have one 3-ring binder with pockets for each class (maybe only a folder for
an elective class) with loose-leaf paper and dividers if they help. If your
teacher likes to lecture, have a spiral notebook for notes- the pages are less
likely to rip out than loose-leaf. Keep papers in chronological order- they'll
be easier to find later when studying. If your binder starts to get full,
transfer old papers into another binder to keep at home. This way you won't
have to lug them around, but they will be there when studying for midterms and
finals.
School
IS important. You don't have to be the nerd who holes
himself/herself up in his/her bedroom Friday night or reads gigantic books in
the corner of the room to be considered someone who takes school seriously. The
truth is, school IS important. You need it to have a good resume, and you need
it to get into a good college and later get a good career that will support you
for the rest of your life, but even though you decide not to go to college,
school does help a lot. Social wise and intellectually. It's important to have
fun and have lots of extra-curricular activities, but school should always be
your number one priority. That being said, never take homework, tests, and
quizzes lightly! Note that extra-curricular activities are also good with
college resumes as well.
School
is important, but so is a social life. Balance
is the key. You can be someone who makes straight A's in all advanced classes,
but if you have zero extra-curricular activities in your application for
college, you will have a much more difficult time getting accepted. It's just
not attractive either way. Keep on top of your school work but make sure you
let your hair down a little sometimes to join a few clubs consistently
throughout your high school years. You won't regret it.
Get involved at your school. You
don't have to wear spirit colors everyday or be a cheerleader to do this. All
you need to do is to stay on top of things- current events, who won the
basketball game last Friday, attending school functions like dances and variety
shows, keeping up with plans your student council has for the school, etc. Just
like keeping up with current events and politics is important, so is being
active at your campus. Not only will it bond you with other people, but it's
always good to have a collective unity over a student body. It shows that you
care about the learning environment that you're in that you support all the
organizations at your school.
Join a
sport. It's easy to forget to stay in shape when the workload
starts piling up, so joining a team at your school makes it one less worry in
your schedule; it's already incorporated in your daily routine. If you're going
for all three seasons, that's great, but make sure you're being reasonable. If
you're taking all honors classes, for example, and you know you're going to
have a heck of a lot of homework, you may want to consider taking a season off.
Try your hardest at both your sport and your schoolwork and you should be more
than great- you're healthy and on top of your schoolwork.
Figure
out what your hobbies are and find a club that matches that. Not
being an athlete is no excuse for not having something to do after school. If
you're into art, join the art club. Music, and join the orchestra or a band.
Join something and be sure to stick with it for a
long time; it looks good on college applications. If you're not into any of
your school's clubs, ask your principal to start a new one. Most likely he/she
will say yes and it's just one quick and easy process into a initiating a new
activity at your school.
Care
about college. As soon as sophomore year, start visiting
colleges. You don't need to decide anything yet, but it will help you decide if
you want a large school or small (urban, rural, or suburban, if a state school
is an acceptable choice, and so on). Visit your guidance counselor a lot-
they're going to have to write a letter of recommendation so the better they
know you, the better a letter you'll get. They'll also be able to help
recommend colleges and find scholarships.
Care
about your Grade Point Average. Your GPA is as important to you as your parents
credit score is to them. A low credit score prevents your parent from being
able to get a loan, rent an apartment, get a credit card, get a cell phone and
on and on. Your parents credit score is their lifeline. It opens doors and
closes doors. Your GPA is your lifeline! With a HIGH GPA many options are
available after graduation. You will have many choices regarding which colleges
you can attend. A low GPA limits your options. There is a program out there for
everyone but having a choice makes the walk across the stage a sweet victory!
Make
friends with everyone. There's too much going on to worry about
cliques, who's friends with whom, who the popular people are, etc. The best
thing to do is to just be friends with everyone. Be confident and be yourself.
Get into the habit of saying hi to people and not being afraid to talk to new
classmates. The more comfortable you become with a more diverse group of
people, the more people will like you and the more you will accustom yourself
to the art of versatility later in life.
Don't
compare yourself with others. It cannot be stressed enough that there's
already too much on your plate to worry about trivial stuff like this. High
school is only a competition with yourself. Everyday you should only be trying
to get better, not worrying about how the girl sitting in front of you has
nicer clothes, is getting better grades, has a hotter boyfriend, etc. Ten years
from now, this won't matter. Focus on yourself. Focus on what you can
do to make yourself better.
Then, most importantly, go for it!
Don't
procrastinate. This is probably the #1 curse of all high
school students. It's hard and it's okay if you do it every once in a while.
But when big tests, exams, and essays come, don't make it a habit. You'll only
be sorry in the end, especially in college with jumbo papers and insane amounts
of reading will become the norm. It's best to accustom yourself to getting
things done early and out of the way rather than waiting until the very last
minute.
Eat
breakfast and lunch. It sounds stupid, but you'd be surprised how
many people skip breakfast or lunch. Not only is this dumb, but it's uncool and
unhealthy. First of all, waffles are yummy. If you don't have time to eat
breakfast at home, take some at the bus stop or buy some at your cafeteria
before the first period. It's important to jump start your metabolism the right
way so it's running smoothly throughout the whole day. Lunch is important to
prevent your stomach from grumbling during your last periods. A full stomach
keeps you focused. Skipping meals actually only slows down your metabolism and
makes you gain more weight, not less.
Stay
healthy both inside and outside of school. Don't
fall for the vending machine trap. Most of the food in there is just unhealthy
and disgusting. Go for the soy chips or anything whole grain if the vending
machine is all you have the moment. Don't fall for the Vitamin Water trap
either- it's loaded with sugar. Only if you're a competitive athlete and will be
burning off those 400+ calories pretty soon should you pay for that jumbo pack
of gummy bears or something. At home, take an after-school snack to keep your
belly full until dinner time--invest in fruits, nuts, and healthy chips.
Loading on junk food during the day is not only unhealthy but will only give
you a temporary "energy" for homework or that 10-page paper you have
to write tonight. Convince your school to get an all-natural and organic
vending machine (see resources).
Get
enough sleep. This is easier said than done, but sleep has
so many benefits. If every high school kid got around 7-10 hours like they
should, everyone would be a much happier camper. Try to get things done and out
of the way so that you get your much needed shuteye. Not only will you be more
alert during the day, but it helps improve your complexion and your figure, and
you'll be much more likely to pay attention in your boring classes and, as a
result, ace them. Of course, this is not always possible, especially in the
dreaded junior year. If you're taking 3+ AP's and are in all those clubs and
sports, there are chances you will be up until 1 AM doing homework - if that
happens, skip clubs/sports the next day and nap! You are no good to anyone when
you are severely sleep deprived. Naps are wonderful things. Also, caffeine can
help you keep focused - but there are potential side effects, and addiction can
hurt you in the short and long term. Try to use the stimulant in moderate
amounts and only when absolutely necessary e.g. an important test.
The
only trend you should follow is yourself. This
doesn't mean you should then go to school the next day wearing pantyhose on
your head, or whatever. You should have your own style and your own identity,
so that you make your mark in high school the right way and not as a
nondescript UGG-wearing replica of every other girl out there (or guy, if
you're reading this. You probably don't wear UGGs though). Be original, and
don't be afraid to be yourself. It's cliche but it's essential. People are more
likely to remember you and want to be friends with you if you are intriguing
and different.
Try to
go out during the weekends. You endured 5 agonizing days of school, and
the time has come to cut yourself some slack. During the weekend, if you have
friends to go with, go somewhere fun and have a blast. Even if you don't have
many friends, spend the weekend relaxing and doing what you like to do. Let
yourself loose and energize yourself so when Monday comes, you're all partied
out and ready to focus again. But remember that school is the top priority, so
don't do this if you have a ton of homework this weekend.
Never
give up. Again, cliche, but important. High school is all about
making a fool of yourself but picking yourself back up, trying again, and
making friends along the way. Learn to laugh at yourself when you make a
mistake. Don't beat yourself up over the occasional C or D (heaven forbid an F)
on a test or quiz. Tell yourself to study harder and strive for an A the next
time. If your team lost a game, tell yourself to push yourself a little harder
at the next practice. Learning this will soon apply outside of school and into
other parts of your fantastic life. Learn from your mistakes and you will go a
long way. Just remember NO ONE IS PERFECT.
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