Hey guys, welcome to another rendition of Mack’s Declassified School Survival Guide. We’re three years deep into these, and with the new school year coming super quick, I thought I’d drop a couple of tips that will make your year easier.
COME IN WITH AN OPEN MIND
It seems that the first thing you hear about junior year is that it’s the hardest year of high school for various reasons. Now, this can be true depending on what mindset you come in with. I had no trouble in 11th grade due to me staying ahead of my work and focusing on grades first. I also heard the talks about junior year being the hardest year, but I didn’t want this to be my narrative. I knew that the work might be difficult but in order to combat this, I shifted my mindset into me having the ability to match that difficulty. The truth is, junior year is only as hard as you make it. Stay focused and you can get through it with no problem.
GET YOUR REQUIRED ELECTIVES OUT OF THE WAY FIRST
This is probably one of the most important tips I can give out due to me dealing with this problem right now. Your school requires you to take four electives to graduate – Economics, American Government, Health, and P.E. These courses are a semester long and it’s important to be strategic in your early years of high school about which ones you’re trying to knock out each year. If you’re smart, you’ll be able to have all of them done by your senior year, but if you’re like me and opted to take chorus instead of economics last year, you’ll find yourself stuck trying to find space to put it on your schedule. Take the smart route.
SPEND YOUR SUMMER BUILDING YOUR RESUME
Summer is the only real time we have away from school, so it’s understandable that you’d want to spend it chilling out with your friends. This is fine as long as you spend some time focused on building skills for your resume. Over the past two summers, I’ve been blessed with amazing opportunities to travel to California and New York City for two film programs (one sponsored by UCLA and another by NYU) in order to build my skills for a craft I’m invested in. These programs have also gotten me credits at colleges I’m interested in, and have also have aided me in building a network of friends I can count on in any situation. During this school year, definitely take the time to research colleges or organizations that have programs for fields you’re interested in. They’re only a google search away!
Mack’s 9th Grade Survivial Guide
Mack’s 10th Grade Survival Guide
