A Few Things I Wish I Knew in Middle School
During middle school, there were a few tips that I wish I was told before I first stepped into the classroom. The ones that I consider most important are listed below: 1) Maintain good grades (yes, middle school actually counts) Right now I'm an ambitious high-schooler, but in no honors classes. This is mainly because in middle school, I was told that seventh and eighth grade did not count at all. I was definitely fed the wrong information because after I applied to honors, I was told because I didn't attend honors classes in middle school I could not attend them in high school. And over time, this is going to reflect on college applications and admission to AP courses in the future. 2) Do not care at all what anybody else thinks You will hear this phrase in many places, songs of any genre, from friends, and from family. In middle school, you are in a state where you actually are beginning to wonder other people's opinions of you and what they primarily think when they see you. This is known as insecurity. And let me be the first to say, when I got to high school it did not matter at all. Believe it or not, people have their own issues they do not usually care enough to keep their opinions of you. If you have a heavy grudge on a person, (or vise versa) just ignore them eventually they will go away and leave you alone. In the long run, your personal insecurities with your peers will not apply once you become a freshman. 3) Ask someone from the grade above you what classes to take Courses vary from school to school based on your work load, subject, and homework given. Since you'll be in high school and deciding languages, electives, teams, and PE classes you might want to know how they have played out with other people. Learn who is teaching the class, how much homework you are given THROUGHOUT the year, and the benefits of taking that course. The reason that I put emphasis on learning the work that they give throughout the year is because some teachers will not give much work in the beginning of the year, but will absolutely flood you with work in the middle of the year. This applies to my current Spanish class, in the beginning it was my easiest class and I was maintaining an A, but in a few months I was down to a C and it gave me more homework than any of my other classes. (This actually includes Chemistry). 4) Enjoy the time that you have as a middle-schooler Middle school is the time where you are learning and preparing for high school. The mistakes that you make during middle school will not have as great of an impact as one made in high school. Take advantage of this time, figure out a way to schedule your time at home to get yourself that A average you want so bad. Because you have time and are able to experiment with the time that you have, and it will not affect your grades too much.