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Minae's Back to School series! ♥ Part 2: 10 Things I learnt at High School!


Long time no see! 
Been really busy with A-levels, I didn't realize the jump from GCSE to AS was so huge lmao so I'm just trying to catch up which is why I missed a few days of blogging. Also because I was too busy playing Destiny on my PS3 (PSN ID: minaekei) so I apologize for that! xD 



Onto the post~ Since finishing High School (or for Britain, we call it Secondary School) I feel like I've gained quiet a bit of knowledge of how to survive school and end on a happy note without any regrets. I know there are a hell of a lot of blog posts and inspirational tumblr pages with similar things to what I may be saying here, but I really wanted to pass down to anyone reading this who may still be in school. ^^ 

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1) Getting to School on time is something that I struggled to do during my first few years of school, and no matter how hard I tried or how many alarms I put on my phone and clock, I still couldn't wake up in time for my first class at 8:30am. My school always had a system where If you came to school late, they would give you 1 hour detention's after school, so while your friends go off for a coffee or shopping, you'd have to miss out and write lines and listen to the teacher complaining about how tardy you are. Harsh right? Because of things like this I tried extra hard to get to school on time (or even better, 10 minutes before class!), and I realized that by doing that, I was able to understand the lesson better than I did when I came in 5-10 minutes late, and I felt a lot more refreshed at the end of the day because I knew I wouldn't have to stay in detention xD 

2) Grades aren't everything, but trying to achieve the best grades really is the best thing you can do with your time in school. If you have spare time or a free period, finish some homework. If you didn't understand a certain topic in your last lesson, so some self research and a few past papers until you get the basics. Simple 5 question homework will help you with revision, so try not to slack off. I did that a lot during one year and my grades dropped a lot because of it. I was able to pick myself up eventually, but I felt like I would have done better in my exams if I didn't slack with the simple homework's given.

3) Asking and Listening to your teachers will benefit you in your final years. As annoying as they may be, teachers are only there to help you. Take advantage of that, piss them off with countless questions if you don't understand the work. They might be annoyed at you at that moment, but when you pass with flying colors because of all those questions you asked, they'll be laughing because of that pay raise they'll get. (If you didn't know, teachers pay rates are effected by their staff position and students final exam results!) 

4) Revision is essential when it comes to memorizing your work for exams. Don't sit there thinking "I have months until the exams come close, I'll revise around April so I'll be ready for the June/July exams". Revise as soon as possible, it will help you. Take notes, LOTS OF THEM. Try note taking on a daily basis during lessons, it helps you remember them easily. Try getting into a revision group with peers who you know will actually help you revise (and not pretend to revise while you simultaneously watch netflix). Tell off your parents and siblings when they're being too loud for you to concentrate. Just revise as much as you can. 

5) Join a club and volunteer once in a while. One thing I regret not doing enough was volunteering and sticking to clubs. I used the be in the cheer-leading squad, basketball team, tennis club, dance club, the school band, school council and many others, but I only really stayed committed to one of them (Dance). I barely volunteered until my last year of school but by then it was too late because I had to prepare for exams. Experiences like these can really make you as a person grow, and you can help other people as well. If you're scared of public speaking or something similar, I still urge you to try it out because I had really bad anxiety when it came to public speaking, and even today I can barely do it without shaking and stuttering, but getting involved in what your school has to offer can give you lots of opportunities that you might not be able to have the chance to do again, so go for it! 

6) Rejection hurts. I got rejected from a lot of positions a lot of times during my school years, and it really really sucks. It's a hard thing to overcome when you're rejected from something you love doing, want to try out, or truly believe you can do that specific position, but failure is the key to success. I don't even need to give examples of people who have failed yet are big today because there are so many examples of people around the world who have been rejected but have gotten back up, poured water onto their wounds and tried again, getting bruised countless times until they finally got to where they are today. Here is one example though. Walt Disney. 

7) Try not to involve yourself in arguments. This is literally the most childish thing you could do during your time at school, and it truly is a waste of time. I never got into any fights or arguments in school because I liked to just walk away mumbling under my breath about what an idiot they were then moving on instead of saying it to their faces. xD I used to see people spending their time arguing with girls they didn't like, and getting into verbal and physical fights with them. It often ended in suspension, which means no time to hang out with friends or no understanding of the topic your class is learning (because you're suspended lol). It's honestly something that shouldn't be worth your precious time and energy so if someone says shit about you that pisses you off, let it go (LET IT GOO~) or hold it in until you get home so you can take it out on the enemies on a game xD 

8) Learn to take a break. This one might seem contradictory after all my talk about revising as much as you possibly can, but breaks are really important for the brain. You're brain stops taking in information after about half an hours work (which is usually why teacher will try to spend the first half of the hour explaining before letting the class go into practicals and self work) and will stay that way until you give yourself a break. It doesn't have to be long, 5 minutes is okay, just take one whenever you see fit to ensure you don't max yourself out and pass out from exhaustion. 

9) Friends are great, but popularity isn't everything. I know too many people who thought more about their status in the school than their grades, and they were often seen as the "popular" kids. needless to say, these girls didn't actually try to work hard in their studies, they would copy peoples homework, having no understanding of the topics, talk during classes, never revise (because going on facebook was just too tempting for them to resist), and just flat out missed the whole point of school. It's great to have friends of course, but don't let popularity get to your head so much that you start craving the attention. Focus on your grades because trust me when you're the one posting on facebook saying "I got - - A* (A+), and - - A's, they'll all be looking at you thinking, "damn s/he's cool". 

10) Try to enjoy it. School isn't the best place in the world, we all know that, but it can have some enjoyable moments. Try to treasure the fun moments you have with your friends, a humorous lesson with your favorite teacher, seeing something that was mean yet funny. Go to events like Prom, or trips like Outward Bound and The Challenge, or out of the country if your school allows those types of trips. Honestly try to enjoy as much of your time there as you can because who wants to leave a place with bad memories? Your parents aren't lying when they say that High School, College and Uni life will be the best times of your life. 

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And that's about it! I hope you enjoyed this part of the School series and again, Sorry that it's so delayed!, I'll get this series done by the end of this month, PROMISE! 

Next up on the series: What's in my school bag? 


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