Any tips for Highschool?

[Original Alear]

Make a small group of real friends(do not limit yourself to this). Do not be a yes man. Some people might ask to copy your homework and try to be on the lesser end on both ends of the spectrum(letting others copy and doing it yourself). Trust me, copying is like drugs. Once you start to slack off, it's hard to get back to the right track. If you choose to copy and stop paying attention, let your first failing test be a wake up call. Hope it doesn't come to that.

Make sure people who are copying are not the dumbs. A guy wanted to use my notes but couldn't read them b/c my handwriting is horrible; I typed them up and he just printed them out and handed them in typed up. I didn't get in any kind of trouble and I don't remember if he did, but it was pretty stupid, since he never used a laptop in class. The teacher was definitely suspicious of him, at least.

(The class was health, obv really easy, but the teacher was an idiot and graded our notes at the end of the semester; naturally this kid didn't know the notes were being graded and didn't have any.)

Finally, in moderation, cigarettes are okay, drugs are okay, sex is okay, drink is okay, but don't succumb to pressure.

This is seriously the worst advice, all of these are much better when pushed beyond reasonable limits (except sex I wouldn't know about that).

Edited July 14, 2012 by L1049

[CrashGordon94]

Finally, in moderation, cigarettes are okay, drugs are okay, sex is okay, drink is okay, but don't succumb to pressure. If you don't want to smoke/take weed/fuck/drink, then don't; it's that simple. But if you do, well, be comfortable with yourself.

This is awful advice! Like everyone previous to him has said, just avoid drugs and stuff completely, you'll be much better off.

[eclipse]

Do your homework, whether it be the stuff that's assigned by teachers or research on the college you want to go to/trade school/whatever. Don't know what you want to do after high school? Now's the time to start thinking about it.

[Parrhesia]

This is awful advice! Like everyone previous to him has said, just avoid drugs and stuff completely, you'll be much better off.

That depends on the person. I never took to cigarettes or drugs, but the people who did are... you know, regular people, and for them it affected them positively (aside from the whole 'cancer eventually' thing, but eh).

... And are you supportive of abstinence-only sex ed? I mean, it seems to be what you're implying. More a 'yeah just don't' than any form of acceptance that these things, bluntly, will happen.

[Bluedoom]

You can have fun without doing drugs, smoking, sex and other stuff.

Just sayin'.

[Parrhesia]

I never implied otherwise?

[CrashGordon94]

It really doesn't matter what they did, you shouldn't be encouraging people to do dangerous, addictive shit!

That's the worst, most dangerous advice you could give someone in the TC's position, I genuinely hope he ignores you entirely.

[Parrhesia]

I never encouraged him one way or the other. I merely said not to be pressured into OR out of it, and to do whatever he genuinely enjoyed in moderation. With regards to drinking, I'd add supervision to that. Might I add that I don't smoke, don't take drugs and vaguely plan to wait until marriage?

[CrashGordon94]

The thing is, he SHOULD be pressured out of doing drugs. "Thinking for yourself" isn't inherently good, sometimes the people forcing you not to do the thing you like have a point.

[Parrhesia]

Sometimes, I guess? But, uh, not here. What, per se, is your problem with drinking in moderation? I'm stressing the 'moderation' part here. Assume that they aren't surrounded by drunkards. Assume that he hasn't followed Westbrick's advice and is drinking with people who he knows, can interact with and trusts, at least one of whom is sober (don't say this is unrealistic; this is the case most of the time, if only because of driving).

[CrashGordon94]

Forget drinking, let's talk about drugs. This is perfectly right, he should never ever do drugs or smoke no matter how happy it makes him ever.

Everyone but you that posted before said he shouldn't do them, too.

[Parrhesia]

I like how much logic you're backing this up with.

[Westbrick]

I'm not quite sure how serious you are, as you seem to be pretty extreme in this 'advice.'

Look, academics are important, and he should strive for a...let's say, 3.9 - 4.6 (or a 3.7 - 3.9 UW), better if desired, to get into a good college, but it is simply not worth four years of misery. Admissions are much too random and biased.

Depends entirely on the quality of school he's going to, but a general rule of thumb is a 3.8+. That should put you in reasonable contention for the upper-echelon (top 20+) universities even with an only above-average SAT.

Your outlook of how these people are is a disgusting generalization of what this new student is likely to encounter. It's extremely important to make friends, to be sociable. A life of academia is no way to live, unless the person actually wants that (and the vast majority do not).

"Being social" is fine to a degree, but high school kids are boring, insecure people for the most part. Not at all worth throwing away a high GPA for. Find a small group of close friends and buckle down.

I'm willing to respond to you more articulately if you want to debate this. I know someone in real life that is JUST like you, seemingly (don't want to jump to conclusions, because I'm sure there's quite a few differences).

If you want to be successful, then you have to make sacrifices. High school is the first time in a person's life when decisions made affect your career long-term, so throwing this away on dumb high school parties or trying to "fit in" isn't the best use of your time. Of course, that's an if. Maybe a person is more satisfied having a fun time in high school, then having a fun time in college, then making an average salary. I wouldn't recommend that, but different strokes.

I never encouraged him one way or the other. I merely said not to be pressured into OR out of it, and to do whatever he genuinely enjoyed in moderation. With regards to drinking, I'd add supervision to that. Might I add that I don't smoke, don't take drugs and vaguely plan to wait until marriage?

I'm a cigarette smoker in the middle of trying to quit, and yes, I would pressure him out of it. Nothing good comes from smoking, and there are healthier ways to deal with stress. I'd say the same about pot, although more for legal reasons (if you get caught, you could be in big trouble). Moderate levels of sex and drinking are fine.

Westbrick thinks everything is about money. Well, sure, if you purely want money, then slave the fuck away, be my guest if that's what genuinely makes you happy. But you can be happy in any job, not just one with a 'six-figure salary'. I like how condescendingly he talks down to 'checkout helpers', too. You can tell he never worked part-time a day in his life.

This is really naive. Most anything you can do in life that's in any way related to academics demands being successful in school. Whether that's business, law, medicine, teaching, or plenty of other fields. There's no free pass to "do what you love."

Edited July 14, 2012 by Westbrick

[Agro]

US high schools must suck serious ass or something. I had loads of fun in high school and did everything I wanted to--theatre, music, academia, etc. and still managed to get a 98.00 (so I was in the top 2% of the state) for my ATAR. Involve yourself with heaps of stuff and make heaps of friends or something. I was friends with most of the people in my year level but it was mostly because I just mingled with everywhere because my interests/subjects were so broad.

[Thor Odinson]

Take 10 AP classes. They're easy and depends on where you go could save you some money, since I entered college as a sophomore :B

Don't develop too high of caffeine tolerance yet, save that for college (again, depending on the major)

Edited July 14, 2012 by Zhuge Liang

[Westbrick]

Don't develop too high of caffeine tolerance yet, save that for college (again, depending on the major)

This is actually some pretty excellent advice! Plus, caffeine can be expensive, and college kids typically have a small budget.

[Shin]

My advice is to be good, and if you can't be good, be safe. There's no harm with experimenting, but do consider the consequences. If you don't feel like doing any of that stuff, don't feel like you have to. Keep on top of work, but also make sure that you meet your social needs too. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

[CrashGordon94]

Experimenting with what, Shin?

[MacLovin]

Drinkings alright, vocationally, but don't succumb to peer pressure.

Now, having a kid at the age of 16 would ruin your life, don't go that far.

Also, don't see things in black and white, but just try to do well in studies, and pay attention to your social life.

Don't follow Crash, he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

[Ciarre]

I disagree with the "it's okay to use drugs in moderation". That shit can fuck up your life. The problem isn't being able to use it in moderation, it's that vast majority of people can't use it in moderation because it's addicting. Also smoking, lung cancer, emphysema blah blah blah. It's easier to just not do it than use it in moderation, because that will likely not happen.

I don't really have anything against drinking or sex.

[Rehab]

There are ways to have sex that don't leave you at risk for pregnancy and next to nothing for STDs, to be sure, if we use a looser definition than "when 2 become 1." I'll definitely echo you guys to advise that one avoid getting pressured into it, regardless, and it should be done with care of course, but it's not terribly uncommon to feel ready late in high school.

I'd say I respect your right to do what you want with your body, but I'm rather biased against drugs myself- grandfathers died thanks to tobacco before I met them, sister had a bit of a time quitting before she turned 30, kinda scared of them in general. I'd go the extra mile to research what you're getting yourself into before taking any, and you'll probably do just fine if you never touch them, but it's your decision like anything else.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Rehab

[MacLovin]

I disagree with the "it's okay to use drugs in moderation". That shit can fuck up your life. The problem isn't being able to use it in moderation, it's that vast majority of people can't use it in moderation because it's addicting. Also smoking, lung cancer, emphysema blah blah blah. It's easier to just not do it than use it in moderation, because that will likely not happen.

I don't really have anything against drinking or sex.

I do agree on this, but not with Crash's viewpoints.

And, yes, but should sex really be ok?

I mean, accidents do happen, and then you're fucked.

[Rehab]

[spoiler=RE sex]Mutual masturbation and oral, Sharpy.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Rehab

[MacLovin]

[spoiler=RE sex]Mutual masturbation and oral, Sharpy.

Well, you learn something new every day.......................

[Ciarre]

I do agree on this, but not with Crash's viewpoints.

And, yes, but should sex really be ok?

I mean, accidents do happen, and then you're fucked.

If you're prepared and know the risks and all, I think it's okay. People just having unprotected sex all over the place isn't what I'm talking about and the world is already overpopulated anyway.