1. Always Keep Your Goal In Mind
What do you want to be when you grow up? What college do you want to attend? What is your absolute dream future for yourself? Never ever set your goals low just because you think they are unachievable. Nothing is ever impossible, no matter what anybody says. Never settle for less than your best, because once you have confidence within yourself, any of your biggest dreams are possible and within your reach.
Want to be an astronaut? Incredible. Want to be an actress? Wonderful. No matter what you want to do, biologist or weather girl, keep your goal in mind. Use it as your motivation. When it's two in the morning the night before your AP Chem exam, keep this goal in mind. It will get you through the night, and get you your A+. If your dreams aren't enough to inspire and motivate you, then those dreams aren't big enough. Aim for the stars. You're going to get there someday, no matter how many obstacles you encounter along the way.
2. Always Remember Who You Are
While this is not necessarily an education-related concept, it's still a very important aspect of excelling in high school. Nobody can tell you anything you don't already know. If you believe in yourself, and have confidence in yourself, you can never have a bad day. You know who you are, and nobody can take that away from you. If you can tell yourself that you love yourself, and know that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to, then you absolutely can! Self-assurance, self-love, and self-confidence are just as important as intelligence as you're on your way to a 4.0 grade point average. Never doubt yourself, you know what's best for you, you know what you're doing, and you know you have the brightest, most beautiful future ever.
3. CONFIDENCE
Like I said before, confidence truly does go a long way. Picture this: It's the middle of Honors English. You get a notification from Powerschool on your phone and you failed your Geometry Unit 5 test. It's the end of the world. Goodbye, 4.0, goodbye Ivy League Schools, goodbye Principal's List Award..You want to cry and run out of the room. You don't pay attention the rest of class, because your mind is still in shock. You don't even remember what the homework was, or what essay was introduced in class. Everything is like a blur for the rest of the day.
But, guess what. That whole thing could have been reversed. You can't let one grade ruin your entire day. Next time this happens, you can't panic, get anxious, or get mad at yourself. You have to accept your wrongdoing. Yeah, you should have studied more, took your time on the test, double-checked every answer, but you know what, you didn't. The only thing you can do now is apply this situation to the future.
Next time, you really need to focus on studying days prior to the test. Take all of the time you need completing the answers. Focus, don't let your mind drift. Finally, at the end of the day, see if you can talk to your teacher, and perhaps retake the test or get some guidance on what you can do to prepare for next time to do much better. Think realistically. One grade wont effect everything, I promise, as much as it's hard to swallow. Perhaps your grade in that class may go down a point or two, but I promise you have time to work much harder and to fix it. Everything happens for a reason, and mistakes happen so that we can learn from them!
4. Don't Procrastinate
While the sound of reading two books, writing 26 entries, and filling out an entire math packet the night before school starts sounds oh-so appealing, just don't do it. Please. You should be worrying about packing up your book bag, how you plan on navigating the hallways, and finding the toughest-to-find classrooms on your first day. You shouldn't be stressing over why Rochester keeps his wife locked up in a closet and what Y=mx+b even has to do with the world.
Get your work done early. Less stress, less anxiety, less, "Oh, I'll do that tomorrow or something." Be that person who starts and maybe even finishes the assignment the day it's handed out. You don't even exactly have to do that, but just please don't wait until the day before an assignment is due.
5. Yes, it is going to be hard. Sorry if you didn't "sign up for this."
Not to be harsh, but I have to tell you something you're not going to want to hear. Yes, it's going to be hard! And, no, whining is not going to help. Trust me, I'm most definitely guilty of doing this. You get handed a 30 page research essay on Hamlet and you say, "Oh my God, I did not sign up for this." Um, girl friend, this is literally Honors English II, what were you expecting? Get this -- in all of my years of whining and crying over "ridiculous" assignments, not once has it helped me to get where I want to be! What Gives?
BREAKING NEWS: Whining and crying does not get your assignment done. Hard work and effort does. Nobody said high school was going to be easy. Here's some actual advice that does not include throwing a tantrum just because your midterm is rumored to be 200 questions long. Don't let anything scare you or make you nervous. Be confident and remember you can do it. You will get past whatever is thrown at you. Give everything your absolute best no matter how much time and effort it takes. It all goes back to this thing -- confidence. If you believe that you can do something, well then, honey, you can!
6. What you put into it is what you'll get out of it.
To be honest, I know some people that are just really content with getting straight F's. And that's fine if you are into that kind of thing, but I just happen to be someone who thinks that is the most ridiculous thing ever. You literally have a free education sitting in your hands, and you're going to throw it all away because you don't feel like completing your Quizlets or actually paying attention in class. But you know what, some people are just satisfied with that.
On the other hand, there are people like me who have dreams of being Valedictorian, getting into the best Colleges in the world, and making the most of education. On the beach this Summer in North Carolina, a guy told me this: "What you put into it is what you're going to get out of it." That quote proves correct every single day.
If you want straight A's, and you want to be Valedictorian, you're going to give it your all. You're going to do everything that you can, even if that means missing a party so that you can earn a couple extra of hours of studying. If you put in that work and you study for hours upon hours, it's going to pay off in the end. If you decide that you would rather go to the mall than study for a test the next day, you're going to get the grade that you earned, and it most likely won't be an A. Give it your 100 percent, and you're going to get a 100!
