School…

When that word pops up there is typically a drawn expression that comes afterward. But why is that? Is it because kids are so stressed they associate the word school with negative feelings? I know I can get major anxiety when it comes to school work. However, school doesn’t need to be a word with negative connotations. With some helpful ways of looking at each school day, the word “school” can become a neutral or maybe even positively-associated word. Below I have listed my top ten takeaways from this school year so far in order from least to most memorable. 

10. It’s not the end of the world — To me, it is the end of the world if I don’t do exceedingly well on something. But, I have quickly learned that giving things the best effort possible is all I can do. Some things are hard because they are simply trying to better you.

9. It’s OK to not understand — It’s OK to be completely confused on certain things, but you need to work through it in order to see that progress and eventually gain that understanding.

8. Get sleep — You can’t successfully do schoolwork without a reasonable amount of sleep. Forgo doing your hair in the morning to get that extra half an hour of sleep (I have done that many, many times already this year). If you want to be an adequate student, get the proper amount of sleep. (Which, I know, is very hard to accomplish at times.)

7. Just breathe — Remain calm, everything will be okay. With a clear brain anything can be accomplished. 

6. Don’t make things more complicated than they need to be — What more can I say? Don’t stress yourself out any more than you need to.

5. Work hard to reap the benefits — You can’t become a genius, star athlete, or A+ student overnight. It takes really hard work. But like everyone says, hard work does pay off in the end.

4. Time management is key — So far, I have seen that having a proper time management system is very important. Why not work out a schedule that allows you to not only stay on task with school work, but also gives leeway for personal enjoyment activities? Use your precious time wisely…it makes a huge difference.

3. Spread your effort evenly throughout everything you do — You may be in sports, taking very high-level classes, trying to work, and have bunches of homework. All of this added together equals a lot of late nights and exhausted students. Work to “spread the load evenly” and do the best you can in everything. Create a balance…life is all about balance.

2. Perfectionism is both a gift and a curse — From the words of Mr. Woods, being a perfectionist is both a “gift and a curse.” While I strive to meet every requirement to its fullest potential, it’s hard to meet those expectations in seven class periods every single day with an average of three hours of homework every night and six hours of sleep.

1. Stress is a part of life, but it shouldn’t control your life — Even though I am only a month into school, my anxiety is sky-rocketing. I stay up late and get up early, which creates a vicious cycle. These past few days I have learned that stress is just a fact of life. There will always be something that stresses you out, but you can’t let it control your life.

School can be very stressful, but hopefully these lessons I’ve been learning will be able to help you too. Thanks for reading my top ten! What have you learned this year that is different from me?