How to survive highschool: tips from a survivor

Class prep for online classes

So haven't even looked at this in forever and kinda forgot this was here. I'm seriously considering turning this into my little rant book but I'll give whoever bothers to read this some advice anyway. 

I've done online classes since I started high school, really I've only had like two maybe three years of public school after middle school and that's including college. 

In that time, I've learned a lot of stuff that most people wouldn't really think of. Like only getting 1 five subject notebook, 2 highlighters, and a pack of pens and pencils will usually last a year is you're not one to color code your notes and stuff. Or how all the answers will always be in the textbook and placing a sticky note by stuff your teachers say is important will make it easier to look stuff up later. Or even how you can tell a teacher your mic or camera is broken so you can get out of turning it on. Don't buy anything you know you're never going to use!!! That is the biggest mistake you could ever make! There'll be things on the syllabus or items list that your teacher will think you need but never end up using and that's okay, but if you know you'll never use them DONT GET THEM! It just wastes money and product. Like I never used flash cards or sticky notes and the ones I had ended up getting put in the sticky note drawer that is only opened like three times a year. Waste of money. 

There's a lot of stuff you can do that makes this easier for you in the long run. It's actually kinda funny how some people don't think of it. Like teachers can actually set tests to record how much time you spend on individual answers or auto turn in if you click out of the page. I hated that. You can get away with it by using a different device to look up answers though. Not much I can do about the time limits, well nothing more than a good luck and make sure to save enough time to go back and check your work. 

Also, never take notes on your computer if you can avoid it. Chances are you're never actually going to look back at it until you're reminded to at the last minute. Not to mention you'll probably miss things your teacher is doing on screen because you're focused on typing. I did that a lot when I started. Oh! And using a snipping tool or screenshot on examples your teacher does and putting them into a word doc will help with studying later. This way you can pick apart the problems you're having and have something to compare it to. That was something I wish I had been told in the beginning cause I sucked at math. 

Make sure to write all your homework down and set persistent reminders for when it's due. You don't need to have folders or anything for it just make sure you know how much time you have left on assignments so you don't 1 forget them and 2 try to cram them at the last minute. Trust me, teachers can absolutely tell when you do. 

Don't do your work in the same place you relax, it'll make paying attention a lot harder. I work in my room and I have the biggest problem with procrastinating. I would work a while then jump on here until someone texts me and I remember "Oh! Hey! I have work I need to finish that's due today!" The panic that sets in afterwords is not fun nor worth it. 

Moral of the story, get what you'll use, work somewhere you're not used to or don't get distracted in, take physical notes, mark pages when you think or know you need to, examples are there for a reason, and set reminders. Things I wish I knew in high school. You're welcome.