Tips for Your Upperclassmen Years
Upper high school years are pretty difficult because of trying to balance multiple things at a time. The pressure of hard schoolwork from honors and AP classes plus college apps, scholarships, choosing a college, playing a sport, being involved, and many other challenging tasks makes both junior and senior year challenging. Well, if schoolwork, itself, is so hard, then why is it so important to take a variety of classes and participate in various activities?
Taking different types of classes about varying subjects will help you explore your interests. By taking my school’s grammar class, I learned I have a knack for grammar and actually really enjoy editing and revising. While I have always loved English class, this really persuaded me to pursue English in my future. Through this internship at Mickle Communications, I’ve also discovered that I really enjoy writing. In middle school and underclassmen English classes, I was always forced to write on a given topic, but now that I have the freedom, I’ve learned I really enjoy writing. Taking a class you think you might enjoy will really help to explore your interests and to help figure out what you want to do in your future.
Pursue your interests if you already know what you want to do but do not completely have a plan yet. Take opportunities that involve your interests and explore them to find out more about what you potentially want to do. Doing a “trial run” at a job or internship will help you know if you want to pursue this career or career field in the future.
Taking difficult classes is also a good way to explore your limits and help you discover what you can do. Challenging yourself is important so you can learn while using and building problem solving skills. It can help you grow mentally and will push you to your limits. This may sound tough, but college is going to be just as, if not more, difficult so you should practice challenging yourself and testing your limits now.
Getting out of your comfort zone and exploring yourself and your interests will also help you have an idea for college. I also went on a trip to France with my school this summer. In class, I had always been very talented in French, especially in grammar and writing. Going to France only made me fall in love with the language and the culture even more. I knew before the trip I had a passion for French, but going on the trip and out of my comfort zone only helped me to learn more about myself.
Being involved in extra-curricular activities and taking challenging classes will help you with your time management capabilities. Learning how to balance your activities with the proper amount of time for schoolwork is an important skill that you can apply in your future life. In college, especially, your workload is most likely going to be considerably more difficult than what it is now, so it will be crucial to have time management skills mastered. Click here for more information on why you should be involved in your school.
Doing college visits in high school will also help you figure out your preferred campus type and size. Some people love being on a large campus with big lecture halls at a state school, but others prefer private colleges, where classes are more personal and smaller. College visits are fun because you get a tour of campus and usually can get some free stuff. Everyone loves a free t-shirt!
Want more tips on how to survive high school? Click here and here for study tips or follow the link in the “being involved” section to learn more about why you should be involved.
