How to survive highschool: tips from a survivor

Class prep and stereotypes

This is something that will take a little bit to explain. Class prep is easy, don't get me wrong, but stereotypes is a little more difficult.

If you have a block schedule like i had, then it's easier to get ready the night before. For me, it was blue days and orange days. I had all the text books i needed for one day on one side of a shelf and the next day on the other side. 

Whenever I went to class, i only really needed one notebook and a folder. So I took that folder and put all my homework in it. Whatever handouts i got from class i always stuck in the chapter of the book we were working on that day and made sure the top of the paper stuck up slightly. When we were completely done with that hand out i would leave it in a binder at home. This way it was easier for me to study.

For each day, i had at least one notebook and one folder. It wasn't until later in my second year of highschool that i figured something out. I started taking a binder full of loose leaf paper and using dividers to separate it into different sections for each class. It was so much easier than a notebook and I didn't have to worry about buying more notebooks later on because I could just add more paper as needed.  I made one binder for each block day and used dividers to split it into different parts. And because the binder had pockets it the front and back, i didn't have to carry around a folder any more. I just had to put my homework in the inside front pocket and I was good to go.

As for text books, when I did have a locker, i would put the textbooks i didn't need until after lunch in it so I didn't have to carry around all of them. When I didn't have a locker, i used a rolling back pack. It seems kinda stupid at first but trust me it'll save you a lot of back pain. 

For pencils and what not, don't keep more than two pencils on you at a time or everyone will ask you for one. 

For notes, it's easier to highlight pen than it is pencil, and if you have to use different colors always try to get pastel colors. They're easier to see what you wrote with.

 And always carry an extra eraser. They come in handy more than you think. Erasable pens are always recommended. 

Don't let people as you for gum, they will take it all. Carry at most 5 dollars of extra cash with you. If you ever run out of money for lunch, just take it out and you're all set. 

Keep track of all your stuff and don't ever bring something really expensive that isn't a phone. If you lose it, you ain't getting it back. You can however bring card games, they pass time before class and you can play when the teachers gives you free time.

Always ask what's going to be on a test, if you don't have to study something then it's better to know than waste time. Most teachers are more than willing to tell you what you need to study. 

Always keep one pair of extra clothes in your locker or gym locker. If you happen to have an accident and your current clothes get ruined, you won't have to worry about calling home to explain. When you change, ask for a plastic walmart bag or something similar to put it in. This will make it look like you are just taking home your gym clothes and no one will question what happened.

Also, quick word of advice, if you can try to make friends with people a year above you. Chances are they have notes from when they were in your year and they might even help you with getting to class faster and tell you which teachers are the strict ones. 

For online kids, just make sure you've brushed your hair and put on a clean shirt or jacket before a zoom meeting. If you don't wanna talk just say your mic broke. Don't take notes on your computer or if you do anyway use a different font from what you're used to. Chances are you'll remember better that way. I don't really condone cheating buuut: If you have an extra device on you during a test and there's no recording of your face happening, then go into incognito mode and look up the answer. No evidence left behind that way. Just remembered to erase your search history before exiting. Google scholar is the best to use when you need to research something. If you have to present something in another language, write it down in a notebook and put the notebook in front of your screen so no one can see it. Just make sure to pretend to think about it a few times so it's not obvious. That trick saved my grade in spanish.

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Now on to stereotypes. This is going to be a loooong chapter. 

Highschool stereotypes are not as much of a myth as they seem. Every school has them, even if people don't really recognize them. One thing hollywood has wrong is that they don't intermingle. Actually, in real life, they intermingle a lot. 

Theater kids, jocks, cheerleaders, during school that doesn't matter. They're just regular students. 

Sometimes you see people gone away for games or whatever but other than that clubs don't often affect school life. It's after school where that changes. 

When the clubs start up, people usually get a bit different. Some theater kids can get angry for someone messing up their part of the script and others just have fun with it and improvise. Some jocks care more about the game than their teammates, and some cheerleaders like to gossip about random stuff. It all depends on people's personalities. It really has nothing to do with the clubs themselves. 

I will say, theater kids are some of the most tight knit groups you will ever meet. They're also really into different plays like hamilton or the greatest showman. So if you decide to make friends with them, be prepared to be educated.

But other than that, you won't see the clubs really interact much. They all have their own agendas and usually keep their club activities separate from their school life's.

The mean girl stereotypes, those are a bit hard to explain. It's not that they aren't true, it's just that the stereotype can sometimes be misleading. 

Not all popular girls are mean girls and not all mean girls are popular. That's really the best way I can describe that. 

And really, that's all there really is to it. There's not much else besides personalities and backgrounds that effect a person's behavior. The only advice I can give is be careful and don't automatically judge someone before knowing them. That is to say, don't automatically trust them either. Fake friends can happen any time and anywhere. If they only ever ask for stuff or hang out with you because they have to, then they aren't real friends. 

If you ever do get cornered by a mean girl, get them talking about themselves. Works almost every time. If it doesn't, just use a come back. Chances are she won't be expecting it and you can slip away easily. Another way I'd to pretend to see a teacher behind them and acknowledge them with a friendly tone, she'll think you're a teachers pet and would do anything not to get on trouble so she'd turn around and give you the perfect chance to escape.

Anything else you wanna know? Leave a comment! I'll do my best to explain whatever I can.