So, just graduated 8th grade. Any tips?

[Olorune]

Just graduated high school this past Thursday.

One of the most important things is to realize that those 4 years will fly past faster than anything in your life. Make the most of them.
Procrastination is never good.
Join a sport, try and be involved as much as you can in school activities.
Don't go through high school laying low and shirking away from everything.
Be yourself. (Always important...and corny )
There's always gonna be the presence of drugs and alcohol in High School coupled with peer pressure. My advice? Stay away until you've graduated (or summer). Sweet lady MJ is fun, but she don't help you during school. But that's up to you, I guess.

 

[David Alexander]

drugs are bad, just saying

 

[Underground Man]

Make sure that when you apply for college after HS, you pick a major that will actually be useful in the job market.

 

[SimpleChimp]

Just like the headline said. Less than an hour ago, I was sitting on a stage being formally promoted from 8th grader to a 9th grader.
So. Now that that's out of the way. What do I need to know about high school?
I'm really bad about procrastination, so I need tips for that, too. But please, any helpful advice is welcome.

Also, I'm wearing an awesome tuxedo.

The only thing you need to know is relax. Everything 80's movies tell you about high school is a vast hyperbolae. Its just another step in education. Make some friends, let your hormones rage wild, go to class, and relax. Highschool is the semi-important non-existance of 90 percent of the student body, while ten percent focus on it like its the end times.

Its just four years in your formative cycle that are soon going to be replaced by College, then by work beyond that.

Relax.

Also stay away from Junior ROTC, those kids are the ones getting picked on. Band, Theatre, all that good stuff is excepted and allowed to run around in their whimsical absurd nature. JROTC is like walking up to your 80's era bully in a pink dress, grabbing him by the balls, and reciting long winded math equations while throwing D&D dice onto a pile of 1st edition foil magic mythic rare cards. And expecting not to get picked on.

 

[GoodOmens]

Be nice to the secretary/administrative assistant, the janitors, and the cafeteria staff. Hell, that's good advice for anyone in any organization.

Do the reading, do the homework. It's a pain but you need to get used to it for college.

Don't be an asshole, or at least as much as possible. When you are an asshole, and you will be, we all are sometimes, apologize. Don't let interpersonal stuff fester.

Find your teachers, get help, if you're having trouble in a class. The longer you wait the harder it will get. Most teachers will tell you that they would prefer to work with a student who's getting a 70 but working hard, as opposed to a kid getting an 88 who is obnoxious.

Sleep. Don't stay up until midnight every night. You'll have to sometimes, but don't make a habit of it. You simply cannot absorb and remember as much information when you're tired.

By the way, I'm a high school teacher.

 

[dfphetteplace]

Just relax and realize that school while important is far from the most important thing in the world. It is ok to not get along with people. It is not important to be popular. Just remember to be yourself. Do what you love and realize that even though the school will try to force a career upon you, remember that if you don't know what you want to do with your life by time you hit graduation, you have a lot of years ahead of you to figure it out. High school sucks, but life gets better. And if anyone gives you any crap, just know that if you try hard enough you will make yourself into a better person then they ever could be.

 

[RanD00M]

Enjoy life now because it's about to take a royal dump over you in the next few years.

 

[Qmonster]

Study hard in high school. No really. It pays off. Oh, and study hard, but don't miss out on getting laid if you can.

 

[Zap Happy]

Ok, I'm only a Sophomore, so this advice might not be too worldly, but it's the few things I've learned from experience.

1. Don't fight school/projects/homework. If you go into these things annoyed and mad, you'll never finish anything, and you'll never be happy. Just stay positive and get it done.
2. Don't blow off the little things. Don't put off an assignment or class because it's a joke. If it's such a joke, just do it and get an easy A.
3. Just be nice to others. It sounds stupid but it's true. People are going to remember how you were in high school. Don't try to be cool and put others down. You never know who your going to meet later in life.
4. Tip for Freshman year: don't act like you're the shit. Nothing is more annoying than a Freshman who comes into high school and starts bragging about how many girls he's done, how much he drinks, or whatever. Realize that your not the big man on campus anymore. Just don't show off and think you own the place. Be yourself and people will be ok with that. Again, sounds cheesy, but it's true.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I didn't have that kind of ceremony when I passed 8th grade...just 5th and 12th.

Anyway, the most helpful thing I can tell you (helpful in a monetary way) is that you can still go to college without taking the SAT or, ACT. Do NOT be suckered into the hype: the SAT and ACT are money pits which can safely be side stepped, especially if you decide down the road that you don't want to go to college. If you go to a tech school or something they also don't require you to have taken the SAT or ACT.

 

[T8B95]

Rule number one. Never, EVER, EVER date anyone who goes to the same school with you. Ever. Look at it this way, if it doesn't work out, you're stuck looking at that person for kind of a long time. Don't do it.

Ah, yes. Very smart ideas.

OT: Highschool isn't all that bad. If you actually try in your classes then you're pretty much set (Except in physics. That will fuck you over).

Whatever you do, AS SOON AS YOU GET TO GRADE 11/12, TAKE SPARES. OH GOD, THEY WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!

If you and another person don't see eye-to-eye, then let them go fuck themselves. You don't need the grievances.

Sex isn't such a big deal as people make it out to be. On that note, nobody has as much sex as they say.

Your marks DO count.

Only become involved in the things that you want to do. Don't take a class or join a club because that's what your friends are doing.

High school will be hell sometimes. Just don't let it get to you--you have university for that!

 

[Danny Ocean]

I'm really bad about procrastination, so I need tips for that, too. But please, any helpful advice is welcome.

Procrastination? Give all your video games and TV stuff to your parents and tell them not to give it back. I'd give anything to go back to when I was 14 and remove computers from my life. Don't make my mistake and waste away in front of one for years before finally getting your act together. It's not worth it. Seriously, a month before exams, hand in your power cables and pick up a book. Life becomes so much easier.

It's also not worth clinging onto your friends. If you want to take that class or do that activity, just fucking do it. If people laugh at you, laugh with them, and explain yourself if you need to. You'll retain very few friends from school (I expect I'll only really keep 2 or 3, and I'm not unpopular), but you'll know who they are.

Take up reading non-fiction. Read around your subjects. It pays off big time. It also prepares you for the mountains of reading at uni.

Remember that almost all of what's important to you now doesn't fucking matter. Once you get that sense of perspective everything becomes a lot easier. Make friends with the staff.

When you do do something, do it properly. Don't half-ass it. If you're going to half-ass it you might as well just sit there masturbating for how much good it'll do you. It doesn't matter if you fail, as long as you actually bothered to try, because then you'll learn more about yourself and your limits.

Take up a sport. If you don't like team games, take up a martial art. If you can't do that in school, do it out of school. It'll make you look good, feel better about yourself, and it'll tire you out so you fret less about crap that doesn't matter. It generally makes you a calmer, more balanced person. I don't care if you think you're crap at sport. You'll learn. You'll get fit. Just do it.

Take up another extra-curricular thing. This is the time to try new things while it's free and you're a fast learner. I didn't do any music from age 12. I'm now learning how to play the harp, and it's much much harder. I'm not just learning how to use a new tool, I need to learn a new language and a new way of thinking. Doing all those lessons outside of school costs a bomb, too.

As cheesy as it sounds, once you get past the initial barrage of abuse that everyone goes through, just being yourself works fine. As long as you learn to laugh at yourself. Those who continue to pick on you can go fuck themselves.

It's funny, the best way to put down someone like that is to simply call them out on it. A while ago there was a guy in one of my classes who would constantly tell me to shut up in a really obnoxious way, in front of people, in class. One day, I got sick of it, and in front of everyone asked him, "George, why do you keep telling me to shut up?" And I made him answer. He couldn't, of course.

Boy, did he feel small.

Be the bigger man- it works- but understand that it will involve standing up for yourself. When you do stand up for yourself, make sure you're right, and don't be a prick about it. Don't be angry, just be reasonable.

 

[internetzealot1]

Son, you better enjoy you're fucking summer.

 

[MarsProbe]

9th grade is about 14-15, high school is 4 years until you reach about 18. Junior high is the 2 or 3 years before that depending on the school system, and elementary school is Kindergarten (about 5) to either 10-11 or 11-12. We graduate high school, but a lot of Junior highs are implementing their own graduation. I don't know why.

Poster is probably a troll. Oh well.

It reminds me of that scene from The Incredibles where Mr Incredible is berated for not attending the kids "graduation", even though he's not graduating, just moving up a grade. That would have been a youtube link, but couldn't find the link.

I guess it's all about fooling kids into thinking they're actually achieving something, as opposed to just doing something everyone else has probably done at some point in their lives.

 

[jojoemon]

PLAY A SPORT! I apologize for the caps, but i honestly think this is a really good way to have a decent time in high school. Scholastics are important, but they're also pretty simple at the high school level, and the amount time you need to put in depends on your goals for after high school (if you don't have goals don't worry, just do decently to keep your options open). Sports, unlike school work, are a surefire way to make friends, have fun, and stay in shape. Plus, girls are more likely to notice you (which is kind-of a big deal in high school)

 

[MutetheDrunk]

1. Get straight A's your first year,which is arguably your easiest. It will be a great boost to your GPA in of itself, on top of harder classes you'll take each subsequent year.

2. But that doesn't mean you should slack off your sophomore, junior, or even senior year.

3. Take any required electives during your first two years so you have room to take fun courses your later years

4. Watch the level of your ego. Keep your head down, just below moderate. Before you talk, consider whether or not your words are appropriate for this situation. The effort is worth it. Of course, it's fine to be a pretentious asshole with your friends, but that's because they are your friends.

5. It's okay to procrastinate sometimes. It's tempting and I myself give in occasionally (cough*allthetime*cough). Just don't be surprised when you're working past 4 am on a six page history paper.

6. On a more personal note, stereotypes are not what they are made out to be. I have no clue where they got the idea of the "marching band geek" from. I can tell you, though, that this stereotype did not persist in my school, as did the "gaming geek" or the "trashy metalhead". I, and this is the only time i've labeled myself, fall under these three classes, but am not (or most of my friends) socially awkward and i'm graduating with honors and into engineering school. I guess the point of this elongated section is to know yourself and do not limit your interests.

 

[Greatjusticeman]

1.) Study and get good grades, seriously. I know it sucks to do homework and stuff, but getting good grades and getting into a good college is worth it. Also, you don't want to be that moron in the class when the teacher is like, "...and the lowest test score was a 27%" - and you know it's you.

2.) Don't stick to just your normal clique of friends. Talk to EVERYONE. I didn't start doing this till about the end of junior year, and I regret it. Some people might do weird things at first, or may not be the most attractive, but the odds are is that they are a pretty cool person to talk to.

3.) Relationships and sex - don't take seriously. I saw a lot of people get involved in very serious relationships and took it WAY to seriously (ncluding myself). It ends up messing with your immature little mind, and ruins your flow for a bit of time in highschool. Also, sex is overrated. It's not bad or anything, but once you get out of highschool, you realize that it's just another thing - an adult thing - and you don't take it that serious anymore.

 

[I Hate Consoles and Mondays]

Study hard. (dur. )
Make friends. (also dur.)
Try to do as much extra-curricular stuff as possible (sports, artistic things like writing or drawing)
Figuring yourself out is gonna be tough but you'll work it out eventually.
Until you're sure of yourself, try to keep it just to the few people that you know you can trust, rather than stereotype yourself in the first few days with a new peer group.

Oh, and give almost everyone a second chance.

Well, this guy has pretty good advice, except for that last one. Be very careful for this one. It was very close to getting me murdered

Please excuse my morbid curiosity and completly unrelated to the thread, but how did you almost get murdered?

I know a guy (Let's call him Bob), has a bit of an anger issue. I knew he was violent, and he had purposely hurt me before (in gym class), but I tried to be friendly with him. I was walking with another friend of mine, he was gonna pick something up, and then head over to my house. Bob was in front of us. My other friend was friend with Bob, and goes over to him and jokingly punches him. Bob doesn't see who it is, and comes over and punches me (in a less joking manner). Several insults started getting traded, starting at what seemed to be friendly, to personal and enraging insults. He goes into his house, my friend goes and picks up the thing he needed (can't remember what), and we head of to my house. Bob comes back out, and seems to be following me. I start to get nervous, and my friend stops to talk to him. Bob sprints towards me, in a peculiar fashion. He has his left hand in his pocket. His left pocket is the one he tends to keep his knife in. The look on his face seemed like it could've killed me then and there. I can't be sure if he was going to kill me, but recently he did admit he was chasing after me with the knife. I ran, making it to the nearby middle school, with him following me the whole way. If I had done the logical thing and stayed away from him, that probably would never have happened.

Oh...kay...
Well, yeah, case in point: Don't hang out with guys who have knives.
You say he 'recently...did admit' to chasing you with a knife.
Am I correctly implying that you still know this Bob?

Yup, school took it as "their jurisdiction." And despite the fact that I all the evidence was in my favor (Well, if you want to call the weapon, a witness testimony, and a motive evidence), they believed his story that he was sprinting up to me to "make me apologize". He got 10 days suspension for having a weapon at school. We tend to avoid each other, but he admitted to it in the locker room a couple weeks ago when somebody brought it up

Huh. Well, avoidence is the best thing for now.
Totally unrelated, but I heard stab-proof vests were really cheap now-a-days.

Heh, might need to make an investment

 

[370999]

Have fun. You have a safety net at high school so do take risks to do some stuff.

General rules would be

Try to be social, join a sport's team or something. I would reccomend sport's team, I find the bond you get there with other people to be ogreat and the parties were fun (also fitness) but you should join what you want. Just as long as you do something.

Attached to this is you should pursue romance, it probably won't be lasting or fantastic but you will get a taste for it and the states are much lower. Sex is something huge in the adult world so at least understand it. Don't feel pressued into doing somethign you don't want but be open to new ideas and the like.

Start thinking of the future, what job you want. Look into it and start seeing about what possible expereince you can get. You might want to be a vet, get some work experience and hate it but that is a lesson learned. Understanding what jobs entail is useful. If you want to go to Uni think about what places you want to study at and what. This is important to understand what you need to be getting at. Imagine how happy to accept you a university will be if you have been sending letters to them for a period of five years

Studying isn't an area you should neglect. It isn't massively important in itsself but it can give you a study disclpence that will see you do much better in further education. It's also good to know what level you are operating at so you cna be realistic at planning you future.

Ultimately be balanced and have a good time. Remember the essential stuff os social life ie the bitchness, the pettiness, the heart warming frienship, the sweet kisses, the soured relationships, etc will be present when you have grown up, just in a different manner.