How to Survive School

First off, I want to let you guys know that I am a rambler and sometimes I have trouble spitting out what I am trying to get across, especially when writing! So, I have a YouTube Channel that I may use to put some videos of explanations or stories of things I may have mentioned on here to better explain what I was talking about. However, I also have a couple other videos on there just of random things too. I'm not trying to promote my channel to you guys, honestly! I just thought I would let you know that when my posts aren't making sense to you or I'm not explaining things well, my YouTube Channel would be an option to get a better grasp!

Anyway, this post is going to be talking about tips on HOW TO SURVIVE SCHOOL. Since I am practically finished all my schooling for the rest of my life (scary but happy thought) I thought I would share some tips that helped me survive.

1)  Make as many friends as you can. Now, these don't have to be your "BFFLS" but from experience, it is always nice to make friends with as many people as you can. If you have a class with them and  you fall sick and miss school, they can get the homework for you and let you know what you have missed. It is always nice to see someone in the hallway to say hey to also. Your best friends are the ones who will get you through everything else school life and life in general throws at you.

2) When you are given an assignment--do the assignment. It's as simple as that! The worst thing you can do to yourself is wait until the last minute to do something. When you finish things early you give yourself time to go back and check it for errors or areas that could be improved AND relieve yourself of unneeded stress, you'll have enough of that already! This tip is especially important for university students!

3) Keep calm and don't be so hard on yourself! Staying calm is key. Nothing is ever as important as you think it is, all you need is the motivation to finish what you got to finish the best you can. Personally my parents never pressured me to do anything, they cared how I did in school but they never told me that I "needed better grades" or "wasn't doing as well as I could" or just flat out "wasn't working hard enough!" They were happy with whatever my sisters and I were able to do. We all had enough personal motivation to get good grades and for my older sister and I to get in to university. I knew some people in school, however, who weren't as lucky. Their parents put pressure on them to do well and I saw how it stressed them to keep up to their parents expectations. I didn't know what that was like but I can't imagine it was good! But, honestly, I think those students would have done just as well in school without that extra stress! So, if you are one of those kids/young adults that have parents like that, I'm not telling you to not listen to them, but, don't let them stress you. I hate to say "YOLO" but it is true, you only live once! Life gives you so many opportunities if you look--sometimes they show up out of no where, no looking needed! So never fear if you don't get the grades you think you should get. Life always has a way of working itself out.

4) Get your sleep.

5) Understand don't memorize. I was taught this since a young age but I never took it to heart until grade 12 and onward. I was never (and honestly still aren't) really a good reader. I am one of those people that reads something but doesn't retain anything, goes back to read the sentence again and repeat. I hated reading with a passion so when it came to school I was never able to understand things completely (also because my teachers were unfortunately no help when it came to answering my questions). It was only when in the end of grade 12 that I decided to try my hardest to read my textbooks and try and actually comprehend what I was reading and eventually things started making more sense and understanding what was happening in class was much easier. I still don't like reading but I was able to read all assigned readings enough to understand the class. TIP: this is a strange tip because you would think that listening to music would add on to the difficulty of concentrating on what I am reading but I can't read anything without music on, maybe you should try it and see if it works for you! (headphones are best--for me at least)

6) Take your vitamins and eat healthy! You can't afford to be sick!...and it just sucks to be sick...

7) Take time to study for exams and/or tests. Make study notes, they organize your class notes and your thoughts and makes it much easier to study.

8) Have fun! As I said before, don't stress out! It is just school after all, you have so many things ahead of you in life that are so much more important than that history quiz you have next week. Make sure to hang out with your friends, spend time with your family, go to the movies, what have you! Find time for you to chill and relax, you're still young!

Thanks for reading!

Alex