High School Freshman's Guide
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15 STEPS
1.) Don't let the upper classmen's teasing get to you.
No matter what you think right now, that's a badge of honor that you get for being older than the freshmen. They're doing it to try and get under your skin. Don't worry, next year you'll have your own batch of "little kids" to mess with.
2.) Don't get yourself written up the first week.
Trust me, I know it might sound cool at first to go ditch because all the sophs are doing it, but don't. It goes straight on your PR and you automatically get a bad rep with the deans and counselors, who you'll more than likely need desperately somewhere down the road.
3.) Do your homework.
I know it sounds lame, but you really need to keep a good pace on your homework. If you miss a week of assignments, you're screwed come finals.
4.) Speaking of finals, study
Your teachers will probably give you study packets. Don't skim through them and head straight to the phone. Go through them, highlight the key points, and have your friends quiz you. It really pays off.
5.) Don't walk around like you're the shit.
Believe me, you will get laughed at so much.
6.) Don't walk around like you're lost, either.
Sure, it's definitely easy to get lost at a new school, but don't walk around frantically looking at each door for the room number. Give it a week, and you'll have the building down backwards and forwards.
7.) Don't stick with those two friends from junior high.
Sure, they're your best friends, but find other people to hang out with too. Luckily for me, my best friend and I ended up hanging out with the same people. If you stick with 2 people through all of high school, you'll regret missing out on all the different people you could have met.
8.) Don't believe in stereotypes.
No matter what kind of clothes people have on or how their hair looks, people are PEOPLE. Don't avoid someone just because they're a "goth" or "prep" or "skater". If you talk to them a little, they might turn out to be really cool people.
9.) Don't freak out and go with some random person to Homecoming.
Sometimes, the best thing to do is wait to go to Homecoming until Freshman year. I went to the dance with a group of friends along with my date, who was my best friend. Work with people you know. If you really want to take this one guy/girl, talk to them first and get to know them better, then come the next dance you'll go with them.
10.) Don't let upper classmen look at your homework.
As some of you know, sometimes you're put in classes with the older kids. If you're doing better than them, they might try and look at your paper. Don't do this. They're only using you for your intelligence, and chances are they don't even know your name. I learned this the hard way.
11.) Organize your time.
It's corny, but it definitely pays off. What I did was, I got a whiteboard and stuck it to my door and wrote out what I would do at each time. I set a time for homework, friends, and other things I liked. I didn't start organizing my time until halfway through the 2nd quarter, and I wish I would have done it sooner.
12.) Join clubs and sports.
Joining a club or sport definitely helps you. You can meet people who you know automatically have at least one thing in common with you. You joined the same group, didn't you? Talk to people and get involved. You'll have friends before you know it.
13.) Don't let Freshman Stress get to you.
Your Freshman year is definitely overwhelming, but concentrate on more important things. Fortunately, colleges understand that transition with Freshmen is a really bad time and grades might be low, so they usually don't look at them on transcripts. Even though that's a load off your mind, keep focusing on your classes.
14.) Take classes you actually understand.
If you get put in Honors Algebra, and you don't understand it, first try talking to your teacher after class. If that doesn't help, see if you can downtrack from that class and take an easier class to learn it slower. You might feel like a failure at first, but it'll pay off in helping you to understand it.
15.) Listen to your teacher.
Teachers can be very sneaky and know exactly what we're doing at all times. Don't daydream while your teacher's lecturing about the most important section of the chapter. Sometimes, if a teacher sees a student not paying attention, they'll call on you and ask you about the section. Chances are if you didn't hear her, you'll make an idiot of yourself in front of the teacher and your class.
HIGH SCHOOL VOCAB
Upper classmen - Any classes older than you.
PR - Permanent Record
Transcript - A paper containing your grades. It's basically a report card.
Finals - The last week of the semester, a huge test for every subject you take.
Downtrack - To move from an Honors class to a regular class.
Deans - The "vice-principals". They basically do most of the same things the Principal does.
Counselors - People who are there to help you manage your classes, schedule, and other things.
Semester - 2 quarters. Usually you have different classes each semester.
Electives - Classes that you don't get credit for. Usually on the report card, it's Pass/Fail. These classes include Art, Keyboarding, Band, and Home Ec.
Credits - "Points" that you get for passing a class. You need a certain amount of these to graduate. They can range from 20-25 credits.
Hope this helped you guys.
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