Tomorrow I start high school.

[Greatjusticeman]

Do your homework, get good grades, don't do anything stupid people will remember forever, and stay out of trouble.

Other then that it's just a grind for 4 years. If you have a group of friends and good motivation it will be fine. Went by like a breeze for me.

Also, don't wait till the last minute to do things. And don't get in serious relationships - they will crash and burn and will end very, very bad.

 

[Kristina.K.]

I don't mean to scare you with anything I am about to tell you, I am trying to be honest.

I spent over five years in high school, though I graduated at my fourth year. I stayed for at least an extra, picking up some extra courses to throw on my record.

I have been to over seven different high schools because of rather frequent moving, due to various circumstances which don't seem important enough to mention.

At each high school, there was the same social formula. Everyone was part of a clique, or they had their own set of mix and match friends (meaning friends who may not have had similar interests, but they were good enough to hang out with). Most socializing was done within each clique, unless work groups were chosen by the instructor.

Those work groups were a nightmare. I would always get stuck with a group of students who didn't want to do any work, and I would shoulder their work just so that I could ensure a good mark for myself. Yes, sometimes group marks affect individual marks -it is incredibly unfair.

I don't know whether or not you are able to select your own courses, but around eleventh grade was where I found the most freedom.

I was able to pick which courses I wanted to take, and I finally got to work with people who had similar interests -regardless of whoever was in my group. It made the projects much better because everyone wanted to do their share of the work.

Socially, I would advise you to avoid falling into a clique. A group mentality among friends is one thing, but amongst a clique, it is not worth the aggravation. If you want to stick to maintaining your grades and developing as a person -not necessarily maturing- find a few people and start a group of friends who you can joke around with. Remember: it is important to have friends, not sheep. People who have worked to get into cliques get nothing out of it other than bad habits, and loathing from every other student who isn't a part of their clique.

Do your own thing, go with the flow, stay focused, get your work done -and above all else...
DO NOT QUIT. Strive to graduate, and aim for high marks. If anyone puts you down, imagine where they will be in a few years. Even privileged people who aren't self-sufficient wont get anywhere without a diploma. Keep your chin up in your academics, relax with your friends, and try to keep up with everything else.

By the way, lockers are not all they are cracked up to be. I never used mine, because there was always some moron breaking into them and stealing from other students.

 

[C2Ultima]

If your high school experience is anything like mine, then you'll find it to be vastly better then middle school. Yes, you should definitely keep your GPA as high as you can. It WIILL help later. Also, try some clubs or take up a school sport. If you know how to complete work effectively, then you shouldn't have any problems at all.

 

[Musette]

I actually just graduated high school and will be entering college in a few weeks. The low points usually were a result of being overworked to the point of illness. The high points, however, were mostly the results of my hard work.

I did well academically with a 5.0 HPA and I succeeded socially by staying involved in the music programs. When you don't have free time, being with friends during extracurricular activities keeps your social life alive.

The most important thing I can say is that high school is pretty much what you make of it. I went the work-your-ass-off route, which was incredibly rewarding to me, even if onlookers considered me insane. My twin sister didn't work as hard as I did, and she had an equally enjoyable experience.

No matter what you do though, find a club or organization that you're interested in. You'll probably be surprised at what you can end up falling in love with. Discover your passion and pursue it; that is how you will make the most of your next four years. Entering high school, I would have never guessed that I'd be entering college as a music performance major, yet alone as a percussionist.

Don't let freshman year cause you to underestimate the challenge of high school coursework. At the school I went to, sophomore year was a giant slap in the face because of how easy freshman year was. Junior year is the hardest year and obviously the most important for your college apps. Some people had easy senior years, but mine was only a little bit easier than junior year.

Let's see, if I could say one thing to my past self, I'd say:
"Quit clarinet, join pit for marching band and don't wait to get some private lessons for marimba. Oh, and while it's okay to mostly focus on mallet percussion, try to be more well rounded as a percussionist.; you'll regret not understanding how to play snare or timpani when you need to audition for anything."

 

[Rawne1980]

I'm in the UK I was 10 when I started high school. Should have been 11 but with my birthday being the end of August I just made that year and was the youngest in the year (yay).

I'd have to tell me to avoid that first lass I talk to, nothing but trouble that one.

And don't, no matter how much he irritates me, hit that muppet outside of the canteen (no good reason but his sister was cute, didn't stand a chance after breaking her brothers nose).

Finally, pick Spanish instead of French to learn. I will never go to France but I will go to Spain quite a bit and understand sod all thats said to me.

The 10 year old me was an idiot.

After i'd told him that i'd clout him round the ear for good measure.

 

[Brandon237]

Eh, was easy for me, find people like yourself, and you will be good. They said our marks would drop 10% going into highschool, mine dropped by... 1%? SO do your work, find people like you and enjoy a little more freedom.

I am grade 10 now (std 8) and I much prefer it to primary school.

 

[CerealKiller214]

I'm going to high school soon too. But I'm not really nervous, afraid or whatever because one of my best friends goes to the same high school as I do.
I will try more to define my self new than find new friends how I am now. Because it didn't worked in elementary or in middle school. I hope that the girls will be less annoying this year.

 

[Vidi Kitty]

Highschool was meh. Did my work, made and hung out with friends, had a crazy engineering teacher who changed my life forever with his methods.

Be cool to everyone, but learn quick the stable people from the crazies, will save you alot of grief in in the end. I was friends with or at least on good terms with jocks, nerds, gangsters, flunkies, honor students... just for saying hi and being relatively nice. Don't make an effort to stand out just for the attention, but don't hold your self back if you are afraid of the attention.

ALSO start getting an idea of what you want to do in life. You can always switch it up but this is a good place to try some things out. Metal shop was awesome and I recommend it or whatever similar thing you might have for the experience but working with electricity and making circuits ended up being my thing.

EDIT: I'm talking American high school by the way. I forget what the UK equivalent is.

 

[CrematedCube]

As a recent graduate I can give my advice, though it may be biased since I was fairly non-social.

Avoid getting caught up on social groups, select friends on an individual basis.
Be friendly with the teachers, they will be more lenient and classes will be more enjoyable.
Get requirements out of the way as early as possible so you can take interesting classes as a senior, it also helps to already know the class when your friends take them later.

Don't hesitate to take more advanced classes, challenge is good and it keeps out the obnoxious jackasses.
While I didn't join any clubs, (they weren't my thing) colleges put a surprising weight on extracurricular involvement. Do it if you want.
Freshman year was uneventful, sophomore was fun, junior was bland, senior was easy.
Stay humble, acknowledge your inexperience, it separates you from the stereotypical freshman and avoids conflict.

Socialize outside your grade level, above and below, even if it's just quietly listening to upperclassmen, you learn things that way.
Expect the food to be bland and expensive. Bring your own or fast (hunger builds character and keeps you awake)
I personally despise petty, social-driven "relationships". Be genuine or avoid it altogether.
Develop yourself outside of school. Keep a hobby, read up on something that interests you. It keeps you sane.

I could go on, but I'm cutting it short

 

[Wintermoot]

whatever you do DO NOT BE YOURSELF! seriously they are going to bully you for it.

 

[EeveeElectro]

Honestly, I think your happiness will be defined how socially acceptable you look, in some cases at least.
I rarely said a peep, kept my head down, stayed out of trouble but still got bullied constantly for not conforming to the other girls with their fashion and make-up and their scrawny little bodies.
As long as you have a small circle of friends, you'll be able to go through anything.
I can only speak on the behalf of the UK here. If US schools are as bad as they are in movies, then I'd rather be home schooled.

 

[Griffolion]

So yeah, I'm going to high school, it's 10:05 PM where I live and I should probably be asleep. So anyway, I'm not sure what to expect, everybody is telling me to grow up and mature some, but I'm not sure if I want to. My sister says to keep a 3.5 to 4.0 GPA, IDK if I'm sure I can do that. Now for the discussion value. Was it hard for you in high school? Did you get along socially/academically? Are you glad about your high school experience? If you could tell the 14 (or however old you were when starting high school) something what would it be? Don't be a smart ass and say that it would tear the fabric of time. Also, shark week is over, how do you feel about that?

Captcha: ruture frombs.

According to Urban Dictionary, frombes is another word for anal intercourse. Oh captcha you kinky little girl.

Edit: I agree, DON'T stand in the middle of the hallways, in the school middle school where I went to it's easy to it's easy to get caught behind somebody and go fuck all nowhere. This rule is applied 10 fold in a 4 foot hallway.

Edit: We don't have lockers. I know it's weird, I don't see anybody complaining about it though. So just putting that out there. But this thread isn't just for me, if you have advice on lockers by all means post it.

Good luck. High School can be hard as 'fitting in' and 'being popular' are huge deals there. I'd advise you to be yourself and take no crap. Get your head down and work your best, try and make as many friends as possible and do nothing to make enemies (unless avoiding making enemies conflicts with the 'take no crap' rule).

Personally, I got along okay, got better as I got older as you generally begin to fit into the dynamic and hierarchies found in High School, and thus become more savvy with the system. I was one of the 'football crowd' as it was called at my School. It was just a big group of lads who hung around on the tennis courts (used as hard turf football pitches during autumn and winter) and played football. We came from all different cliques and groups just to play it. So it was pretty good.

But one thing I'd say to you is. Don't become someone else just for the sake of fitting in. Find your own clique based on you, not based on what people want you to be. Honestly, you'll be more miserable being accepted for someone you're not than you will be not accepted for who you are. Be true to yourself.

 

[Cheesus333]

Well, in the UK we have a two-tier school system rather than the three-tier one still used in the USA. Although they do have First, Middle and High schools here, Primary and Secondary schools are much more common. I say this because I just finished Secondary school - essentially High and half of Middle school. I suppose now would be a good opportunity for me to look back at the last five years and evaluate whether I enjoyed them or not.

The first thing to remember is that you'll always look forward to being the next year up. In Year 7 I couldn't wait to be a Year 8; in Year 8 I couldn't wait to be a Year 9, etc. At some point someone's going to try and ruin that for you (probably a lot more than once, truth be told) but don't let them cause eager anticipation of what comes next is how you're going to not only survive but enjoy the whole ordeal.

The next thing is that no-one's experience will ever be the same. This applies to everything, but it's useful to note here too. Although it's easy to group all kids in the same age group into one and assume they're all the same, or categorise them into 'nerds' and 'goths' and 'emos' and all that shit, it doesn't mean anything to you as an individual. I'm telling you this because your individual experiences - crazy shit you do with friends, getting in trouble, accidentally forgetting your bag one day and practically pissing yourself trying to run all the way home - is what's gonna make your high school career a pleasant or unpleasant memory for you.

What it boils down to is this: whether you enjoy the next few years or not is entirely down to you. It's not about moving along with the herd to the eventual goal of leaving school forever, or about nailing your target grades[footnote]Definitely try and do as well as you can though, this shit is important[/footnote] but about gradually becoming the person you're going to be for the rest of your life, because this is when you're going to do it. Make sure it's someone you like.

From one going out to the other coming in, I wish you a happy and successful few years.

EDIT: Don't worry too much about getting laid, cause if you try too hard you just won't. Learn from my mistaaaaaaaaaaakes!

 

[Crazy_Dude]

MY first few years I just went through it without paying many attention to my homework. A simple C was enough and I never aimed any higher. Only on some subjects like Algebra and Chemistry I would try since I found those just more intresting.

Aside of my last year of high school I always tried to fit in with the "popular kids" I succeeded decently at that but still was in a tad of a depression. Years later I realise that most of the "popular kids" are major douchebags. And you should just be yourself. Trust me you will be better of that way.

 

[Infernai]

I never understood what "grow up and act mature" meant, does it mean waging war on a country for being next door to one that a few asses came from, does it mean creating a ponzy scheme, or does it mean yelling about not paying taxes

I dont get it

"Grow up and act mature" basically means moving on from the 'pulling hair and name-calling' style of villainy to the 'Master manipulation and Creating untold Misery for everyone you despise' Level of villainy.

Hope that makes sense

 

[ZeroDotZero]

Talk to people. Don't make enemies. Don't be abnormal. Talk to people. Don't be a background character. Talk to people. Talk to people.

This is all there is to it. By the end of it, you will be chummy with practically everyone there. Just do not do anything stupidly weird, high school will never let you live it down.

 

[CaptainTrilby]

Keep your head down for the first term. Stay out of the way of the popular kids. Talk to people, just talk to people. Make them laugh, find some common ground. Don't do French, you will regret it. Learn to speak in public, it'll do wonders for your confidence. Be civil. If your interests are a bit off the wall, don't show them straight away, get a good network of friends before you announce your love for obscure Eastern European animation. Prepare for rumours.

 

[The Funslinger]

My sister says to keep a 3.5 to 4.0 GPA, IDK if I'm sure I can do that.

Screw that. Do it anyway. If you "I'm not sure" your way through C averages, you will never forgive yourself. So don't let that happen. Kids these days don't realize how much it actually means, thinking they can get along fine if they have a <3.0 GPA and maybe never go to college, and they probably can, but if you can go for more than fine, do it. Don't dig yourself into a hole freshman year. Work as hard as you can and stay on top of everything. That'll carry over to the next three years. And remember- the next four years will change the course of your entire life, so all the work and long nights it takes are worth it.

First few years, I was averaging Cs in the majority of my classes, final year I got most of them up to Bs and As, but I'm still waiting on my actual exam results.

To Myself: Punch that guy in the face the second time as well, on that trip to france, don't push through the McDonald's line to see your friend and don't be at odds with the majority of people [kind of fixed that in the last two years too, but still].