Back to school

As the August days pass, the inevitable reality of school starting up again begins to set in. With this, The Eastern Door has asked me, a high schooler going into my last year, to give some tips to people going back to school, especially for the people in the younger grades.

These are some things I’ve learned along the way. Maybe it could help someone else who is going back to school.

Get involved

Let’s start with doing extracurriculars. It could be anything from sports to arts. As long as you’re doing one of these, you could meet people you would want to hang out with.

For me, I joined the choir club. There I would meet a lot of really nice people. In fact, that’s where I met the leader of the tech team, who would later make me into his protege for the tech team. Going into grade 11, I am the leader of the tech team because of him.

Another extracurricular I’ve done is the Model United Nations, where I’ve met many really talented people that I still talk to.

Joining extracurriculars could not only help you meet people but also open up doors for other opportunities too, which is why putting time into something besides your studies is always a good idea.

Ask for help

This is a big one to me because I’ve had trouble with it at times. This past year, I had the pleasure of being in my school’s high math classes, only accessible by having an 80 percent or higher the previous year.

While I was soaring two years ago, last year I wasn’t so much. I had a hard time understanding what was happening or the point of the math. I would try to use my own ways to solve problems, but would instantly be shut down because it had to be the way they taught.

All this accumulated to me not passing my exam. This all happened because I was too scared to ask for help. The teacher was really nice and wanted to help everyone but it was me and my ego saying I’m too good for help. Ask for help if situations like this happen, even if it’s something small like “I need help with this problem.”

Talk to people

Talking to people might be scary, but stepping outside of the comfort zone is always a good exercise. Not everything can be inside that comfort zone, so to be able to practice stepping out is good.

Even just asking for a pencil or gum is good practice. I’ve met a lot of people through just asking for some lead or an eraser - not super close friends, but people who I could talk with.

Talking to random people is hard for me, but in my opinion it’s worth it to meet new people. Maybe that person will become your new best friend. On the opposite side, don’t shut down people trying to talk to you.

Treat others well

Before I give my last tip, there is one thing I must say – be kind. It may not be the easiest path, but sometimes the harder path is the one worthwhile. Bullying is never okay; let people be what they want to be and let them express themselves. It’s never okay to bully.

Stay organized

I don’t know if this will help you specifically, but for me creating lists of homework, tasks, or upcoming tests really helps me remember what I need to do. A journal for keeping track of things is perfect for me.

The school I go to gives a good amount of homework each day, and the best way for me to keep track of what I did and what to do is to write it down. Before I knew this, I would constantly forget to hand in homework or only be reminded of projects the night before, which is never fun.

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