Some Advice for All High School Students

    By Christine C.

      When one reminisces, they often question many of their past decisions. This complex issue of viewing life in hindsight often results in a flurry of regrets; however – while one cannot change their own past – today, a few tutors bring you a variety of advice they wish to instill as you commence or continue your high school career. 

Abel responded on a mental basis: 

     “If I were to go back in time to when I was a freshman, I would have altered my way of  thinking about school. Now that I am a senior, I have realized something that would have made all the difference in my education if I knew it then. Through the rigorous courses that I have taken filled with both triumph and despair, I have learned there is a distinct difference between being smart, and being knowledgeable.

     “Being, "smart" can be acquired by working hard, giving all your effort, and doing what you are supposed to do. In other words, if you are smart, you study to live. This mentality is brought upon many students by parents and teachers always preaching what the students MUST do in life to become successful. All told, things are very different. If you desire to become knowledgeable, you must make work play. Instead of passing your classes because you study to live, you are passing your classes because you live to
study. That is knowledge.”

Annie focused more on social acts:

     “My advice for freshman would be to understand that during freshman year, you should try to become active at your school. During my freshman year, I was so preoccupied with academics that I didn't get the chance to try new things and gain new experiences. Freshman year is the best year to become active at your school because the coursework is usually easier than following years. If I were to do freshman year again, I would join a ton of clubs just to meet more people and try new things. Try some random clubs. Who
knows, they might turn out to be a lot of fun!”

Valentina recommended judgment skills:

     “My advice to freshmen is that they should never trust their instincts, they will make you do things you will regret later on. Never to follow the big crowd: they are usually making wrong decisions.”

Future instilled academic advice:

     “My advice for freshman year would be to pay attention and try and keep up with your academics. Freshman year is generally the easiest of all four years and it generally gets harder and harder after that. It's better to do good freshman year and excel from there instead of having to worry about picking yourself up years later. I'm a sophomore and only in my second week of school and I'm already getting prepared for my third quiz, a test next week and most likely a pop quiz before this week is over and I know it's bound to get more difficult every year. Freshman year, I probably only had two classes I really had to pay great attention to because of difficulty. Aside from that, if you're a really motivated student and you're college bound, it would be a good to get an idea of what colleges you're interested in possibly going to and see what you can do over the next four years to get there. I know freshman year might sound a little too early for that but I think it's better to prepare yourself now instead of waiting for senior or junior year to really start thinking about it then miss out on a school you're interested in because of possible requirements such as courses.”

Rawan took an unorthodox approach:

     “Advice that I wish I would have lived by freshmen year would be "fail", now I know that might sound a bit crazy to recommend but failure is probably the only way to let you succeed. I was so caught up freshmen year with wanting to just get good grades and not actually learning the content of the course which had come to bite me in the butt, not that I'm a junior taking college courses. In my college courses I realize that a lot of the information being presented to me was the same that I had learned in some of my high school classes, that I wished that I took serious! If I took the time to actually "learn" the content from my freshmen classes than my college classes now would be a lot less stressful!”

I delved into an emotional motto:

      “The best advice I can give is ‘Immer Ertragen.’ This is my motto: “always endure” (in German of course!). Keep your head high. My high school years were wrought with emotional and mental pain from the individuals in my life. No matter what occurs, keep going. Focus on academics and find your inspiration. While you may be unable to find somewhere you fit in while in high school, know change comes with college; also, know that moving on is the best thing one can do in such situations. I found Sir Isaac Newton and Differential Equations, and it changed my life. No matter what anyone else says, you are unique. You make a
difference. If nothing else makes sense, remember one thing: Immer Ertragen.”

     High school – and beyond – represents a time of social, emotional, mental, and physical development. While we cannot change our pasts, hopefully this advice will assist others walking the same path so many of us tutors have walked in these past years. Keep all of these in mind as you traverse the halls of high school, and remember: Immer Ertragen!