How to Enjoy High School
By Will Lieber, 18, Illinois
Most guides on the internet aimed at incoming high school freshmen are entitled “how to survive high school” or “how to get through high school”. These titles make high school seem like a terrible and awful time from beginning to end (which it can be), but I believe that high school also can be a really fun and fulfilling experience when looked at in the right way. I enjoyed my time in high school, and I want others to be able to enjoy theirs. Here are a few tips on how to make the most of your high school experience.
Academics
Undeniably, a huge part of high school is actually doing well in your classes. Everyone is capable of doing well, but for many it is difficult to actually achieve their potential. This is mainly due to two factors. First, many kids do not care enough to do well. The single biggest predictor of high school success is dedication, which I believe is a talent in itself. So if you possess the drive and resolve to succeed, you are already one step ahead. Second, some kids have yet to develop the study skills necessary to succeed. Eventually you will encounter a class in which you cannot just pay attention to the teacher and do well. If it’s not in high school, it will be in college, so you might as well learn to study and how to do it well. Good studying requires good planning. Throughout high school I used an agenda religiously. Buy one. Use it. Every day. If you are tech-savvy enough to use an e-calendar like Google calendar, that is good too, but make sure you are actually using it. Agendas are incredibly useful in helping you organize due dates and other details. You might think you can remember it all, but personally, I find it a lot less stressful to just write it all down in one place.
Next, you have to use these dates to plan ahead. Give yourself time to prepare for big tests and classes by planning a few days to study. Use study techniques that work for you. If you try flashcards and proceed to bomb your exam, try something else like reading the textbook, or using a different note-taking strategy. Often your teachers will be happy to provide you advice. Learning how to study is critical to high school success and whatever you do after high school. Figure out how to do it and do it well.
For standardized tests, every test has a different code to cracking it, but generally it is a good rule of thumb to take practice tests as similar to the one you will be taking as possible. If you are studying for the ACT take old real ACT tests. A lot of people don’t think they can improve their ACT score, but that is an absolute lie. This is coming from someone who took the ACT an unhealthy amount of times, and slowly climbed their way from a 25 to a 35. You can improve. But at the end of the day, always remember that you are a person and not a test score.
Social
Maybe the most feared part of high school is the social aspect. Will you make friends? Will the upperclassmen stuff your face into a urinal? Who knows. But remember: you can’t control other people’s actions or thoughts. The only thing you can control is yourself, which includes how you treat others.
Building off this philosophy, I believe the single best thing you can do to begin making friends is to carefully pay attention to peoples’ names. When you introduce yourself to them, or hear their name from someone else, remember that. Names are intimate, and by repeating them to their owners, you are showing them that you care enough about them to remember their name and recognize their presence. When you see someone for the first time each day in the hallway, greet them by name. While simple, this matters to people.
Second, I cannot overstate the importance of being kind. It goes without saying, but talking bad about people when they aren’t around just generally isn’t a good idea. Speaking highly of them is fine though. Don’t write people off for being different from you. You can often find interesting people in odd places. That being said, don’t let people take advantage of your kindness. Show it to everyone, but it is extremely important to set boundaries in terms of how many chances you give an individual. An example of this would be fulfilling excessive favors for someone when they could do it themselves. You need to respect and be kind to yourself as well.
In addition to being kind, try to exude other great qualities. Be a leader, and fight for things you think are worth fighting for. Be a friend to the friendless and a helper of those who need it. Try to make your school a better place, even if it is only in everyday interactions with your peers.
Extracurriculars
I am a firm believer in the value of extracurriculars for building friendships, community, and a well-rounded individual. Whether it is the soccer team, chess club, or band, all extracurriculars are interesting and valuable in their own right. The most important piece of advice I have about ECs comes from a mistake I made in high school: do not do as many extracurriculars as you can, or any for that matter, if their sole purpose is to pad your resume or CV. This is a massive mistake. Too many ECs gobble up all your time and prevent you from focusing on the activities that really matter. Now, I am not saying do one sport and that’s it. Do as many things as you can comfortably enjoy and manage. Heck, get a little uncomfortable. But when doing something, ask yourself about the value that activity provides you. If you hate it, and are doing it just to be involved in everything, stop doing it.
In terms of college applications, ECs can make or break you. But colleges don’t care about them if you just have a million things that you joined for a day so that you could say you did them. Don’t do that. Quality and dedication are extremely important. If you can communicate your true passions and interests it will be much more convincing than a bunch of bullet points on a student resume. For example, one of my childhood friends recently got into Dartmouth, an Ivy League school, for astrophysics. He did not even apply with an ACT or SAT. But he was able to explain his passion for astronomy, how he was a part of a state board for astronomy in Maine, and how he performed experiments at home to prove the existence of stars. These activities supported his story about loving the night sky and growing up in rural Maine, which is way more interesting and meaningful than resume padding. Extracurriculars can be really valuable in showing who you are as a person, not just for telling people you can do every activity on the face of the earth.
Do what you find interesting (volunteering gigs included). Don’t be scared of quirky or unusual hobbies. Do you like watch making? Build some watches. Do you think you could be a good Olympic rower? Join a rowing team. I personally find unusual hobbies really cool, and they can lead to career interests or other opportunities for growth.
Getting a job in high school is obviously great for making some cash, and similar to ECs they can demonstrate maturity and the ability to balance time well. Some kids have the privilege of being able to choose whether to work, and some do not. Either way, your ability to work well with others and the skills learned in working life are exceedingly useful regardless of the field you end up working in. The hardest part is just balancing work with your academic and social life.
If you have read this far, I appreciate your time and wish you all the best with your high school experience. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me through the Contact page.
This work is a result of my experiences in high school and my desire to share what I learned with others. My little brother is entering his freshman year, so I am also writing this to pass my advice on to him.
