So, just graduated 8th grade. Any tips?

[Enrathi]

Try not to procrastinate, that'll get you in trouble. It still gets me in trouble from time to time, but I'm getting better about it.

High school will suck at times, but I also have some really good memories that I wouldn't trade for anything. Like anything else in life, it's got its ups and downs.

Try out everything, high school is where I really learned what I liked and didn't and where I started thinking about my life and the choices that landed me in my current profession.

I'm sure someone will probably say this is bad advice (and it's still 4 years off), but after you graduate high school, you don't have to go straight to college. I did because I felt I had to and it was expected of me even though I wanted a break from all the stress and pressure of school. Half way through my first semester I just stopped going to my classes and obviously failed them all. 10 years later I went back to school, got my degree and got straight A's because it was something I wanted to do for myself that time as opposed to something I was doing because I felt others wanted it from me. I always wonder what would have happened if I'd just taken a semester or two off between high school and college to take a little time for myself and get it out of my system. Yes, college is important, but you don't have to push yourself into it immediately if you aren't ready.

 

[rsvp42]

Join anything. I was in marching band and as a result, had a built-in social circle even before school started. Find something you love or are good at and start learning it now, even if there's no actual classes for it. Teach yourself. Like if you want to cook, learn now and get good. If you want to draw or animate, start early and challenge yourself.

And don't be afraid to mess up. With girls, with grades, etc. Just learn from it and do better the next time. Don't take the easy way out and video-game yourself into dropping out.

 

[I Hate Consoles and Mondays]

Study hard. (dur. )
Make friends. (also dur.)
Try to do as much extra-curricular stuff as possible (sports, artistic things like writing or drawing)
Figuring yourself out is gonna be tough but you'll work it out eventually.
Until you're sure of yourself, try to keep it just to the few people that you know you can trust, rather than stereotype yourself in the first few days with a new peer group.

Oh, and give almost everyone a second chance.

Well, this guy has pretty good advice, except for that last one. Be very careful for this one. It was very close to getting me murdered

Please excuse my morbid curiosity and completly unrelated to the thread, but how did you almost get murdered?

I know a guy (Let's call him Bob), has a bit of an anger issue. I knew he was violent, and he had purposely hurt me before (in gym class), but I tried to be friendly with him. I was walking with another friend of mine, he was gonna pick something up, and then head over to my house. Bob was in front of us. My other friend was friend with Bob, and goes over to him and jokingly punches him. Bob doesn't see who it is, and comes over and punches me (in a less joking manner). Several insults started getting traded, starting at what seemed to be friendly, to personal and enraging insults. He goes into his house, my friend goes and picks up the thing he needed (can't remember what), and we head of to my house. Bob comes back out, and seems to be following me. I start to get nervous, and my friend stops to talk to him. Bob sprints towards me, in a peculiar fashion. He has his left hand in his pocket. His left pocket is the one he tends to keep his knife in. The look on his face seemed like it could've killed me then and there. I can't be sure if he was going to kill me, but recently he did admit he was chasing after me with the knife. I ran, making it to the nearby middle school, with him following me the whole way. If I had done the logical thing and stayed away from him, that probably would never have happened.

 

[Dense_Electric]

Dunno about everyone else, but my high school years were actually quite enjoyable (I graduated a year ago). Our school was pretty much free of cliques, it basically came down to the preppy/jock/football/cheerleader types, who mostly kept to themselves, and the nerdy/skater/art/band/metal/goth kids, and we mostly kept to ourselves as well.

 

[Vrach]

Yeah, work on your GPA (whether through constant work or doing it all at the last minute, just get it done [heads up though, the former is usually easier and prepares you for uni better]) and figure out as early as possible what university you wanna head to afterwards and what you want to do with your life. Pick something you will enjoy doing, research into colleges that give you the education for it and see what you need to get a scholarship. You can save yourself an upwards of 50000 dollars by getting one and that money will be much better invested in a variety of other things ranging from a gaming PC, across a car to a possible place of your own.

As for how to do socially... find yourself a group of people you enjoy hanging out with. Try not to isolate yourself from everyone else, but don't let them get to you in any shape or form.

 

[Kinokohatake]

Take it from someone in 12th grade; In a matter of years you will look back on yourself as you are now and think "I was a bit retarded, but at least I got better grades than I do now".

And when you are 26 like me you will look back on your 12 grader self and think the same thing. And when I am 39 I will think the same thing about me now. But at 90, I'll be amazing. Then die. I'm just messing with you btw.

But really, 9th grade is where it all opens up. You don't want to graduate and look back 10 years later and wish you had more memories. As it has been stated, go out for sports, drama, writing, art. Do SOMETHING with your high school career. Oh and don't sit back and believe yourself above everyone else, because when you are 26 you will really hate your highschool self. Good luck.

 

[lokun489]

Don't Die.

 

[Chrono212]

Study hard. (dur. )
Make friends. (also dur.)
Try to do as much extra-curricular stuff as possible (sports, artistic things like writing or drawing)
Figuring yourself out is gonna be tough but you'll work it out eventually.
Until you're sure of yourself, try to keep it just to the few people that you know you can trust, rather than stereotype yourself in the first few days with a new peer group.

Oh, and give almost everyone a second chance.

Well, this guy has pretty good advice, except for that last one. Be very careful for this one. It was very close to getting me murdered

Please excuse my morbid curiosity and completly unrelated to the thread, but how did you almost get murdered?

I know a guy (Let's call him Bob), has a bit of an anger issue. I knew he was violent, and he had purposely hurt me before (in gym class), but I tried to be friendly with him. I was walking with another friend of mine, he was gonna pick something up, and then head over to my house. Bob was in front of us. My other friend was friend with Bob, and goes over to him and jokingly punches him. Bob doesn't see who it is, and comes over and punches me (in a less joking manner). Several insults started getting traded, starting at what seemed to be friendly, to personal and enraging insults. He goes into his house, my friend goes and picks up the thing he needed (can't remember what), and we head of to my house. Bob comes back out, and seems to be following me. I start to get nervous, and my friend stops to talk to him. Bob sprints towards me, in a peculiar fashion. He has his left hand in his pocket. His left pocket is the one he tends to keep his knife in. The look on his face seemed like it could've killed me then and there. I can't be sure if he was going to kill me, but recently he did admit he was chasing after me with the knife. I ran, making it to the nearby middle school, with him following me the whole way. If I had done the logical thing and stayed away from him, that probably would never have happened.

Oh...kay...
Well, yeah, case in point: Don't hang out with guys who have knives.
You say he 'recently...did admit' to chasing you with a knife.
Am I correctly implying that you still know this Bob?

 

[I Hate Consoles and Mondays]

Study hard. (dur. )
Make friends. (also dur.)
Try to do as much extra-curricular stuff as possible (sports, artistic things like writing or drawing)
Figuring yourself out is gonna be tough but you'll work it out eventually.
Until you're sure of yourself, try to keep it just to the few people that you know you can trust, rather than stereotype yourself in the first few days with a new peer group.

Oh, and give almost everyone a second chance.

Well, this guy has pretty good advice, except for that last one. Be very careful for this one. It was very close to getting me murdered

Please excuse my morbid curiosity and completly unrelated to the thread, but how did you almost get murdered?

I know a guy (Let's call him Bob), has a bit of an anger issue. I knew he was violent, and he had purposely hurt me before (in gym class), but I tried to be friendly with him. I was walking with another friend of mine, he was gonna pick something up, and then head over to my house. Bob was in front of us. My other friend was friend with Bob, and goes over to him and jokingly punches him. Bob doesn't see who it is, and comes over and punches me (in a less joking manner). Several insults started getting traded, starting at what seemed to be friendly, to personal and enraging insults. He goes into his house, my friend goes and picks up the thing he needed (can't remember what), and we head of to my house. Bob comes back out, and seems to be following me. I start to get nervous, and my friend stops to talk to him. Bob sprints towards me, in a peculiar fashion. He has his left hand in his pocket. His left pocket is the one he tends to keep his knife in. The look on his face seemed like it could've killed me then and there. I can't be sure if he was going to kill me, but recently he did admit he was chasing after me with the knife. I ran, making it to the nearby middle school, with him following me the whole way. If I had done the logical thing and stayed away from him, that probably would never have happened.

Oh...kay...
Well, yeah, case in point: Don't hang out with guys who have knives.
You say he 'recently...did admit' to chasing you with a knife.
Am I correctly implying that you still know this Bob?

Yup, school took it as "their jurisdiction." And despite the fact that I all the evidence was in my favor (Well, if you want to call the weapon, a witness testimony, and a motive evidence), they believed his story that he was sprinting up to me to "make me apologize". He got 10 days suspension for having a weapon at school. We tend to avoid each other, but he admitted to it in the locker room a couple weeks ago when somebody brought it up

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Here is the advice I would have liked someone to give me when I was that age.

1. Get a job as soon as you can and save almost 100% of the money you earn to buy a car (+ insurance payments). Save any remaining money some kind of interest bearing account.

2. Take as many AP/college credit classes as possible when you are in high school. Even if you think they are "too hard". You can literally save thousands of dollars in the future and maybe even shave a year off your undergraduate degree.

Check your community college to see if you can take classes while still in high school. Between summer classes and AP you can potentially graduate high school as a college sophomore.

3. Unless you are a "hot" guy or one of them makes it obvious she is interested just ignore girls in high school. The effort/reward ratio is really low then, it gets better as you get older.

4. High school in general is a big waste of time. Unless you have a very specific plan (like sports scholarship or specific career goal) consider dropping out as soon as you can and getting a GED. Then get an associate degree at a community college, then use that to get into a state school for your undergraduate degree.

------------

If you can shave 1 year of high school and 1 year off undergrad college then you will have 2 years head start on your peers in any career field you choose.

Also consider military service right out of high school. This will pay for your college and give you medical care for life which is very valuable. Plus when you go to college you are older, probably have a car, and can buy beer. And you have all sorts of stories that chicks will dig.

I really wish I had gone military after high school.

 

[Mark Hardigan]

Don't put so much stock in High School. Contrary to popular belief, it is not "The best time of your life." Also don't freak out if you have no idea what you want to do by the time you're a senior. Lastly, study hard but remember that school is only part of life.

 

[Chrono212]

Study hard. (dur. )
Make friends. (also dur.)
Try to do as much extra-curricular stuff as possible (sports, artistic things like writing or drawing)
Figuring yourself out is gonna be tough but you'll work it out eventually.
Until you're sure of yourself, try to keep it just to the few people that you know you can trust, rather than stereotype yourself in the first few days with a new peer group.

Oh, and give almost everyone a second chance.

Well, this guy has pretty good advice, except for that last one. Be very careful for this one. It was very close to getting me murdered

Please excuse my morbid curiosity and completly unrelated to the thread, but how did you almost get murdered?

I know a guy (Let's call him Bob), has a bit of an anger issue. I knew he was violent, and he had purposely hurt me before (in gym class), but I tried to be friendly with him. I was walking with another friend of mine, he was gonna pick something up, and then head over to my house. Bob was in front of us. My other friend was friend with Bob, and goes over to him and jokingly punches him. Bob doesn't see who it is, and comes over and punches me (in a less joking manner). Several insults started getting traded, starting at what seemed to be friendly, to personal and enraging insults. He goes into his house, my friend goes and picks up the thing he needed (can't remember what), and we head of to my house. Bob comes back out, and seems to be following me. I start to get nervous, and my friend stops to talk to him. Bob sprints towards me, in a peculiar fashion. He has his left hand in his pocket. His left pocket is the one he tends to keep his knife in. The look on his face seemed like it could've killed me then and there. I can't be sure if he was going to kill me, but recently he did admit he was chasing after me with the knife. I ran, making it to the nearby middle school, with him following me the whole way. If I had done the logical thing and stayed away from him, that probably would never have happened.

Oh...kay...
Well, yeah, case in point: Don't hang out with guys who have knives.
You say he 'recently...did admit' to chasing you with a knife.
Am I correctly implying that you still know this Bob?

Yup, school took it as "their jurisdiction." And despite the fact that I all the evidence was in my favor (Well, if you want to call the weapon, a witness testimony, and a motive evidence), they believed his story that he was sprinting up to me to "make me apologize". He got 10 days suspension for having a weapon at school. We tend to avoid each other, but he admitted to it in the locker room a couple weeks ago when somebody brought it up

Huh. Well, avoidence is the best thing for now.
Totally unrelated, but I heard stab-proof vests were really cheap now-a-days.

 

[ebMusicMan84]

My first suggestion would be to learn that "graduated 8th grade" is incorrect, and should instead be "graduated from 8th grade".

Other than that the most intimidating part of high school is the social aspect to my mind. I'd recommend playing the crazy kid that beat the hell out of some guy on the first day for looking at him wrong, people tend to leave you alone after that. No, I'm NOT talking from experience... stop looking at me that way... ARRRR!

 

[IndianaJonny]

Study Hacks [//calnewport.com/blog/] will now be your new best friend for the rest of your academic life.

I would advise against doing as many things as possible.
By all means, try as many things as possible (you often learn more by finding out what you don't want to do than by finding out what you do want to do) but many kids get the wrong end of the stick and think "the more I'm doing, the better I'll be". If you look at successful academics, the Rhodes scholars for example, the breath of their activities is often quite narrow but boy do they accomplish a lot in their field.

 

[Fursnake]

Damn, all I got upon completing the 8th grade was a summer off...

 

[LCP]

Live it, don't waste too much effort on the freshman or sophomore years. Get outgoing, make good connections. Join something, but don't let goddamn clubs turn you into their money making slave either...

Get a car when you can, and if dual enrollment is available take it ASAP. Make sure you get to leave early with the dual enrollment.

Know the school, find loopholes.

Be very nice to the staff(security, lunchladies, teachers, office workers, counselors), try to be in real good terms, even friends with them. You don't know how much one of them can save your ass In a bad moment. Be noticed, be polite, and professional to them Believe me, they will help you out much more than the secluded, shy, or rude, individual.

 

[Callate]

If you want to go to college, start looking into scholarships and financial aid early. If there's a teacher or a counselor whose job is to help students with these things, make certain you're on their radar.

Most of the people around you will be varying shades of insecure. Some of them will hide it in ways that will later make them embarrassed. Don't put up with people who treat you badly (by which I mean, "stand up for yourself and don't hang around people who want you to be the butt of their jokes", not "shank bullies with a switchblade.")

Save "trying too hard" for your classes; leave it out of your relationships.

Good luck.

 

[MaxwellEdison]

My first high school utilized the most busy work of the district, perhaps the state, though no one told me this. Basically, all the speakers from senior year got straight A's, had 3 extra-curricular activities, played instruments, ran track, and made it out like this was the average.
I transfered after a year to the main city school, and basically, high school is insanely simple for me now, I never get stressed at all.
So here's my advice - don't stress. Seriously, besides outside life, school really won't be that bad. Take classes that suit your level, don't feel pushed to take AP chem if you're a drama nerd. Find what you really enjoy - don't stress about figuring out an entire career, but put thought into what you'd like to keep doing. And don't feel that all A's in super advanced classes will get you there. All those kids from the first school? They'll be in offices somewhere, typing out reports. And that's fine. Kids I know now will be actors and biologists and engineers.
Remember, overall, that high school isn't make or break. High school is a testing ground. Find your way, try to have fun, and don't hurt yourself.

 

[dallan262]

should have gone to scotland then i would have known what the hell you were talking about?

 

[sicnasty77]

I can not stress this enough (I am a college recruiter) EVERY GRADE AND CLASS COUNTS!!!!!! We look at all of your grades for every class through all four years of high school. DO NOT SLACK OFF EARLY! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!