Making the Most of Your High School Journey
Although four years is not a lot, there’s no doubt that we can gain a variety of invaluable experiences during this short span of time. High school is a great place to get involved, discover your passions, make meaningful connections, and develop life-long habits, so why not make the most of your journey as a high school student and discover your full potential? Whether you are fresh into high school, or a student getting ready for your pursuits after graduation, it is never too late to learn, and of course, have fun.
Get Involved in Your Community
First, get involved. Personally, I know that I will never regret the time I spent volunteering, meeting new people, and getting involved in my community. Joining clubs at your school, volunteering at a local organization, or even starting your own club, are all excellent ways to get involved. Through these extracurricular activities, you might discover your hidden passions, cultivate more knowledge in an area of interest, and network with like-minded youth. In addition, getting involved is a great way to gain crucial transferable skills, such as critical thinking and communication, that are applicable in all areas of life and academia. Narrowing down a few activities to commit to is a productive and fantastic way to spend your extra time outside of schoolwork.
Develop Good Habits Early On — And Stick to Them
Since habits are so hard to break when they start to form, it is essential that we build good habits early on. In the long run, these habits could make or break the enjoyability of high school life. For instance, you could start by finding out what study habits work best for your style and schedule, practice time management, stay on top of your tasks, and exercise organization skills. Personally, I find that getting into these healthy habits helps me tremendously with my productivity and performance at school, in turn impacting motivation directly. Working on building good habits and breaking the ones that have a negative impact will prepare you for the busy life of a high school student and beyond.
Challenge Yourself / Don’t Limit Yourself
Next, challenge yourself! Try new activities that you haven’t tried before and put yourself out there! You could participate in contests, apply for leadership roles, or create your own club at school. Whether it’s academic, social, or personal, you can learn so much about yourself and the world by challenging yourself. Challenging yourself is also an amazing way to improve at something, as you are pushed to overcome limits. Furthermore, you never know what unique opportunities you will stumble across — having a new challenge from time to time gives you something exciting to work towards that makes you more sure of your own abilities.
Get to Know Your Peers
High school can be hard, and that’s why it is important to have a good support system! Throughout high school, meaningful friendships can help you and your friends learn positive qualities from each other. First, I found that building meaningful friendships is extremely important as you can gain new perspectives on the world. You can learn about different cultures, stories, and unique ideas through your interactions at school. In addition, building strong relationships with your peers can help you stay connected to the flow of information. This includes news about learning opportunities, helpful events at school, and any school work that you miss on days off. Building strong bonds with your peers will give you years of memories and lessons to carry after high school and into the future.
Give it Your Best
Don’t expect perfection from yourself, but expect that you’ve given your best. Work hard and put in genuine effort so that you can leave knowing that you’ve tried your best. I find that when I know I worked to the best of my abilities, I leave class each day without any regret or wonder as to what could have happened. Instead, I can channel my energy into working on revising and getting myself ready for what the future holds. So, try to think more about what you can control, like your study habits and the effort you put into school, and less about what you can’t control even when you’ve tried your best.
Take Care!
And to end this blog off, don’t forget to take care of yourself! Use breaks when you feel that you need to and take a walk outside when you hit a roadblock to refresh your mind. Thank you for reading, and good luck on your high school journey!
About the Author
Selina Liu is a grade 11 student based in Ontario. She is passionate about the sciences and wants to pursue a career in the medical field. In her spare time, you can find her playing the violin, drawing, or reading.
