<p>i learned how to BS my way through everything...</p>
<p>it is an important life skill!!!</p>
<p>oh and also that stereotypes are largely true even if we dont want to admit it hahaha</p>
<p>
[quote]
- That, for some reason, I always get any guy I want and that- contrary to popular belief- is not always a good thing. Really isn't a good thing.
[/quote]
</p>
<p><em>crickets</em></p>
<p>Jk :P</p>
<p>I learned that you should work smart, not hard. </p>
<p>Cheaters do prosper, and smart cheaters can easily do well on a standardized test because of all the extra time they have because they cheated. :)</p>
<p>Athlete ----> popularity.</p>
<p>Confidence ----> girls.</p>
<p>Teachers -----> suck.</p>
<p>Nerds -----> finish last.</p>
<p>Preps ----> are very unaware of reality.</p>
<p>School ----> waste of time.</p>
<p>American Whites ----> mostly uncultured. It surprises me to no end. Unless you count wearing a polo and plaid shorts every day (Joke).</p>
<p>
[quote]
School Rules 1-3</p>
<p>1) Trust no one.
2) "A" stands for "Acceptable."
3) Sleep is optional.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Sedistic competitive nerds ----> need lives. :P I kid.
I can go on, and on, and on.</p>
<p>Even though I'm not done with high school here's what I've learned so far:</p>
<p>Don't argue back with the teacher, it will not only make him or her extremely angry at you, but also cause him or her to punish the entire class in some way. If you think that the teacher made a mistake talk to him or her after class politely.</p>
<p>Don't "brag" so-to-speak about how busy your life is, or how hard it is, or how late you were up last night because honestly no one cares, and they probably have a more hectic and harder life than you do.</p>
<p>If you get things wrong on a test even if you know that all of them are careless errors don't go complaining to someone else about how you totally knew the answer and then show them exactly how to do it, because yet again no one cares and all that makes the person listening want to do is scream. An off-the-wall comment about how all of your mistakes were things that you could have avoided if you checked your work is fine, but please don't go into much more detail than that.</p>
<p>The first thing occured in my math class, and the second and third thing have been done to me before. So I'm begging you if you do any of these three things other people will just not want to be your friend, and probably hate you. It is okay if you think that you are smart, and all that, or the best, or whatever, but just keep it to yourself for God's sake.</p>
<p>Wow that was a long post...</p>
<p>I learned how to score girls. ba-zing!!!</p>
<p>things i learned in high school...</p>
<p>...keeping things in perspective. it's not worth it when a subpar grade ruins the day.
...taking control of my own learning. making it happen even when the school/a teacher is less than satisfactory.
...prolonged stress makes me a really unpleasant person.
...taking better notes than i think i need, because my own shorthand is only gonna trip me up, and i WILL wish i wrote down the specific date.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Some teachers give A's. Some hardly ever do. Some don't. Learn to live with it and take the class anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn how to feel really good about getting stuff done.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't actually ever need to use the chemistry room shower--or the school photographer will come start snapping pictures of you (didn't happen to me, but I saw it happen).</p></li>
<li><p>Do all your work. That's half the way to an A.</p></li>
<li><p>Take fun classes, even if they don't all look good.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to a high school that requires four years of arts!</p></li>
<li><p>go around school breaking up the freshman cliques. It's the most fun you'll ever have!</p></li>
<li><p>Have a few really strange friends and a few really artistic friends.</p></li>
<li><p>Studying for tests only improves your score if it doesn't prevent you from getting decent sleep.</p></li>
<li><p>Enjoy the high school years.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Contrary to a previous post, school spirit is FUN. It doesn't mean anything, but it is FUN and makes school more enjoyable. Go for it--dress up for spirit days, get involved in stupid activities... it doesn't "matter", but you'll have fun doing it and have something non-serious to remember in the years to come.</p></li>
<li><p>You can (and should) be friends with all different sorts of people. Boys, girls, preps, nerds, jocks, drama kids, band geeks, creepy people, loners, punks, emos... they will all still exist when you get out into the real world, so you better learn how to get along with them now, while you still have this little enclosed environment. Besides, most of them turn out to be okay, and it's great to always be able to find a friend to talk to. </p></li>
<li><p>Take at least one non-academic class at all times. It can be PE (I did yoga and ballet) or arts (drama, piano, photography) or anything. Just make sure it's something completely unrelated to everything else you do. It will feel like a breath of fresh air. (Trust me: piano between AP Calc and AP Gov is a lifesaver, and a completely refreshing way of thought)</p></li>
<li><p>Go to some social activities, but don't throw everything out the window for them. You should probably go to Prom. At least one Homecoming. They make great memories for later. But don't toss away any really crucial opportunities for them.</p></li>
<li><p>Study for the SAT. Getting A's in your classes doesn't mean a 2400 on the test. It's probably not worth taking a special SAT class, but a book is really useful. </p></li>
<li><p>Make friends with what teachers you can. There's a wonderful relief in knowing you have teachers you can count on to help you, to understand when you have a problem, and (perhaps most crucially) to write you fantastic letters of recommendation. </p></li>
<li><p>Flirt. Once again, don't let it take up your life, but... high school is a great place to practice. </p></li>
<li><p>TALK TO YOUR TEACHERS when you have an issue. They can sometimes be very understanding of your circumstances. Not all of them will, but the worst you can get is a "No, sorry", and they still know that you really care about the class. When I've just had a terrible day and didn't finish my homework (don't do this often, then it makes you untrustworthy), my teachers often sympathize and let me finish it that night.</p></li>
<li><p>Make friends. You might not see them again after you graduate... but who wants to live life always thinking four years in the future? Know people. Care about people. Have them care about you. Friends are something magic--people who don't owe you anything, or you them, but just stick together out of mutual liking. Keep them close.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally... Don't panic about your grades too much. Maybe you got a C on that one history test. It's okay. Life will move on. So will you. Don't let a grade ruin your day, even if it's really terrible. Try to fix it, but always realize that you are only human. Someone will always get a better grade than you eventually, so let it go now in preparation for the future. I spent way too much time last year worrying about being second-best.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Doing sports that you are decent at/bad at is good only for making friends</p></li>
<li><p>Don't bother doing sports unless you are best in region, and can get into good college thru sports</p></li>
<li><p>Do as many clubs as possible. and get leadership positions/awards in them.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are introverted (shy), your teachers don't know you well, aren't involved in much, you will probably not get into ivys. Grades are not everything.</p></li>
<li><p>People often overestimate their chances for getting into good schools. </p></li>
<li><p>Non-verbal communication is imperative </p></li>
<li><p>Do not be satisfyed that you are taking harder classes and getting better grades than your friends. There's always those few kids who don't telegraph their classes/grades and they get into ivys.</p></li>
<li><p>For ivys, Psats are as important as sats. Pretty easy though---i boosted my score by 20(200 sat) points studying one weeked before psat. </p></li>
<li><p>a. shy nerds go to medium level colleges or worse.
b. jocks either go to great colleges (sports scholarships) or bad ones
c. Only the exceptional few get into best colleges</p></li>
<li><p>Reason for why you have to get exceptional grades and be outgoing/have lots of friends: student gov't positions or other important positions almost require you to be outgoing---and are imperative to getting into ivys.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>
[quote]
1. Doing sports that you are decent at/bad at is good only for making friends</p>
<ol>
<li>Don't bother doing sports unless you are best in region, and can get into good college thru sports
[/quote]
</li>
</ol>
<p>Not true. By playing the sport, you can become better at it. And #2 sounds like a nerd writing off sports as an extracurricular.</p>
<p>Dont go on College Confidential at school, or people will think you're weird.</p>
<p>I like to sit around CC with my friends and laugh at all the chances threads. :p
It's okay, if you're making fun of it too.</p>
<p>Just because I can write a coherent paper at 4 am doesn't mean I should, particularly if I have a race that afternoon.</p>
<p>My principal could have been a superhero, but instead he's my principal--he deserves my respect.</p>
<p>Political correctness gets exhausting. It's thrilling when someone comes up with a strong argument against excessive political correctness.</p>
<p>Action movies are the best kind.</p>
<p>My school newspaper is awesome.</p>
<p>"Dont go on College Confidential at school, or people will think you're weird."</p>
<p>Lol... so true! If you're doing something even academic/college obsessive-looking in your free time, your friends who do Gaia and Myspace will think you're really weird.</p>
<p>And I have one to add:</p>
<ol>
<li>Assume anything you say to one person can and will be known by everyone (I tried to conceal my age, but a few of the upperclassmen knew me - and suddenly the whole school knows!)</li>
</ol>
<p>Going to a high school without your typical cliques is awesome.</p>
<p>Having friends who are diverse is great. Mine are, uh... asian, indian, black, jewish, so white they're transparent, working class, rich, preppy, whatever else... except we're all smart, that being the common denominator at my school. But honestly colleges that can't claim much diversity just... turn me off. does anyone else get that?</p>
<p>Don't be afraid of spending most of your time with just a few really close friends. Having deep relationships at this age can be invaluable. I have learned so much about the people I love, myself and my own character, how to help people with their life problems, and how to be close to someone with a real give-take of support. Oh and conflict resolution and accepting differences. </p>
<p>Haven't had a boyfriend though. Unnecessary. Not sure what I've learned from that though. oh wait yeah I do. Staring at a cute guy for a whole quarter won't make him realize you exist... haha oh dear me no...</p>
<p>Taking AP classes is fun! Those are just the best classes... if you get a thrill from challenging yourself. Oh, but don't take Physics. I haven't. But I've heard it crushes the spirit.</p>
<p>Disliking yourself will exclude you from a lot of fun things. And you're probably more attractive than you think you are. And you're not actually inadequate (not even if colleges think you are, heh.)</p>
<p>EVERYONE looks stupid when they dance. So dance anyways. </p>
<p>I've learned how to take derivatives. sweeeet times.</p>
<p>oh and sometimes teachers are worthless people. if you try your best but they are unreasonable and still hate you, obviously they are not worth the worry. </p>
<p>Be earnest. But don't be naive.</p>
<p>oh and your papers always end up longer than you think they will if you're interested in what you're writing... : )</p>
<p>There are a lot of brilliant people who don't use their smarts.</p>
<p>Be confident in yourself.</p>
<p>Ranks, GPA, standardized tests do not matter if you are succesfull later in life, just which college you get into</p>
<p>You will not have a perfect life if just because you got into an 'ivy school'; a lot of people get stressed out and depressed due to the amount of work</p>
<p>People can be two faced. Not everyone tells you the whole story.. Everyone looks for their own benefit and will cheat you if you doan't pay attention.</p>
<p>Do what you love to do.. do not worry about being popular or how you'll look- most people do not even care and you will not see most of these people after high school.. why waste your talents? I've made a lot of mistakes this way. </p>
<p>Being close with a couple of people is better than being friends with a lot of people. (most of them will not even know you as a full person)
\
Do not be scared to challenge yourself. This is the time when you experiment with a lot of stuff.. do not be scared to take APs or try new sports you've done before.. </p>
<p>Never underestimate yourself.. Does not matter what everyone else says. .. Never feel insecure about yourself about what someone else tells you. </p>
<p>Never complain about your stuff to others.. No one cares!!</p>
<p>Procrastination will get you nowhere.. think of how much better you could have done, had you not procrastinated for that paper, writing it at 4 am; how you could have won that scholarship had you sent it in earlier.. This 'skill' will keep up with you.. try to stop it ASAP</p>
<p>I totally agree with ^.</p>
<p>So if you're thinking of procrastinating in high school, think of this:</p>
<p>~Sure you may procrastinate through all your classes and still end up with A's, but only after accumulating unnecessary regret and anxiety and sleep depravity.</p>
<p>~Once you start putting things off to the last minute, you just CAN'T stop, and soon enough, you'll develop a really bad habit of doing homework assignments/projects/papers the period before they are due. So if you're thinking of procrastinating, just DON'T do it, no matter how tempting it may seem.</p>
<p>Other things I've learned in high school:</p>
<p>~Take advantage of AP Classes. Not only will you get College credit, most schools (like mine) will give you extra points for AP Classes, thus increasing your GPA. Taking AP classes also saved me from getting really bad teachers who taught regular classes. You actually LEARN something in these classes.</p>
<p>~"Typing papers single spaced first make the double-paged result climactic."</p>
<p>No matter how much you hate your high school, you will experience nostalgia later.</p>