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.
5) Get your community service hours BEFORE school starts As a high school student, you are going to find that you will be occupied with work for a huge portion of your time. Some schools require community service hours in order to graduate, therefore get them in the Summer before you come to school and need to study for quizzes and tests. You will be surprised what actually will count as hours, I have a friend that helped his coach with basketball camp (while attending the camp) and had his hours completed before the year even began. 6) Stay Positive! Yes its a corny phrase, but its the reality of the situation. Many kids have been known to have traumatic and depressed experiences in middle school. The best you can do to combat this is to have a friend that you know will always be there with you, that you can go anywhere with and still have a good time. Always be with that friend when you have spare time and not feeling too well. 7) Train for sports Middle school is a time of preparation. You have about three years in order to learn a sport and play for your school. If you take advantage of the time that you have, (meet with a good coach or trainer) you could take on legendary status by high school and play for varsity. 8) Don't worry about your first kiss or having a girlfriend and a relationship for that matter The media and television has trained us since we were kids, "You need your first kiss, you need a girlfriend its embarrassing". The truth actually is that these things do not matter, (yes it is embarrassing if you haven't had a girlfriend before the age of thirty) but these are just added stresses and pressure. You are not obligated to force yourself into any relationships or sexual relations with others. Be with the people you want to be with, not the easy ones because these relationships will reflect on who you are in the near-future. Your first kiss (if you haven't had it yet) will come when it comes. Trying to speed up the process will just throw you off track from everything else in your life and sucking on somebody else's lips is not exactly the first priority. And so there you have it, take advantage of these tips that I have written and you will be more prepared for high school, and ready to take it on once you arrive. Make middle school count because once you finish it you are not going to go back.
Middle Schools