z

Young Writers Society


12+

What I Learned in High School

by jumpingsheep


  1. No one ever looks good in the bathroom mirrors. The fluorescent lighting and dingy walls do no one justice. You probably look just fine. Stop checking yourself out in the mirror and go back to class.
  2. If you’re going to be late, make it count.
  3. Never sacrifice your health for homework. Go to sleep, dammit! And it’s rare that any homework that was finished after 2 AM was done correctly.
  4. Always carry food on you. Whether you have to stay after school later than expected, or you need a sugar burst to get you through that algebra class, you’ll want that emergency food.
  5. Always have money with you. Always.
  6. As a freshmen, find friendly upperclassmen. They give you rides and life hacks.
  7. It’s okay to sit at a lunch table alone. People trying to squeeze in sixteen people at a table look ridiculous. Be a nonconformist, start your own lunch table colony. Trust me, at a crowded lunch, other people will join you, and you’ll meet some pretty awesome people by sitting at different tables.
  8. Never, ever, let people know that you have gum.
  9. There’ll be classes that you simply can’t stay awake in.
    1. Eat your emergency food.
    2. Drink cold water.
    3. Get up to blow your nose, taking an extra-long time to do so, as you focus on waking up.
    4. Stretch your legs under your desk.
    5. Don’t look at the clock. It will make things worse.
    6. Raise your hand and ask a question.
  10. Don’t get into fights on social media. The whole school will know by homeroom the next day.
  11. To be honest, without prior preparation, any studying done while the teacher is handing out the test probably won't get you too far.
  12. It pays to make friends with staff and administration.
  13. If you are struggling in a class, or you are not the best off with a teacher, invite them to one of your sports events or plays or concerts. It’s hard to fail someone once you really get to know them.
  14. Don’t wait until your senior year to join clubs and participate in school events.
  15. Everyone is fighting some sort of battle. Everyone has problems of their own, from your mean teacher, to the “little miss perfect” class president, to a classmate you’ve been at odds with since middle school.
  16. “Study for the test tomorrow” doesn’t mean “no homework”.
  17. Don’t lend money to anyone unless you see that person every day. I have about thirty dollars that I never saw again.
  18. Don’t order a pizza if you only have twenty minutes to eat.
  19. Start looking at colleges before the fall of your senior year.
  20. Follow the lab instructions. Wear goggles. And add the acid to the water, not the other way around.  Waft chemicals.
  21. Always change for gym class.
  22. Take one fun class. Even with a demanding schedule, take that one college prep class in public speaking, or that cooking class that really caught your eye.
  23. People who do drugs or party often are not automatically bad people.  That said, don’t do drugs, kids.
  24. Co-ed health classes are going to be awkward. It’s a fact of life.
  25. The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.


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121 Reviews


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Mon Jan 21, 2019 10:52 pm
manilla says...



"The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell."

BRILLIANT.




User avatar
121 Reviews


Points: 110
Reviews: 121

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Mon Jan 21, 2019 10:52 pm
manilla says...



"The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell."

BRILLIANT.




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Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:38 am
aulyasela3597 wrote a review...



High school is where you build the foundation upon which you will build the rest of your life...

Many of the skills and habits that will lead to your success (or failure) in later life are those that you master in high school. Not that it is impossible to turn your life around after a wasted HS experience, but those who develop good "studenting" skills are going to be successful more often than not. Those skills then lead to more success in college and then in life as well.

So take it seriously and do your best always !!! It is how you invest in yourself :)




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Wed Nov 18, 2015 10:04 pm
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CarsonTheArson says...



This is all so very true. All of you little highschoolers better follow this advice! I know I missed a few things when I was still in highschool >.> 3, 4, and 5 are so especially important. I found myself without food and money more often than I would care to admit <.< Take care of yourselves, you lovely people <3




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Wed Nov 18, 2015 12:28 am
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Wolfi says...



This is a beautiful piece of literature. Helpful, too! #25 <3




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Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:15 pm
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queenofscience wrote a review...



Hi, Queenofscience here for a review!

Wow, so true about high school. So true about late nigh studying (not that I had studyed late at night.) Most likely if you do HW paste 12, most likely it's not going to be correct. Your going to be too tired.

Health classes are kinda awkward. I especially when your do sex-ed. So weird. And then, you as the student, want to ask questions about that stuff but you don't have the guts to ask your parents because it's awkward.

True, doing drugs doesn't not automatically make you a bad person. But still, don't do drugs.

"Study for the test." Yeah, that still means you have HW.

I really enjoyed your work. Keep writing.




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Tue Nov 17, 2015 2:48 am
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Dracula says...



25 is one hundred percent accurate.




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Tue Nov 17, 2015 12:07 am
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This is the single greatest thing I've ever read about high school. This is very useful. Especially for kids going to high school. Keep writing things like this.




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Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:46 pm
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Aley wrote a review...



Hello!

So I'm actually reviewing this because I saw it was an article and thought sweet, YWS is branching out. That being said, I didn't come into it expecting a "Top 25" list, so I was a little surprised when I saw that it was one.

That being said, I'm not going to comment on what you wrote so much as how you wrote it. There are a lot of these articles in health magazines, women's magazines, men's magazines, and so forth, so it's a good skill to learn to do right. Right now, I think you have half of the equation. You've got the right "you" style of writing that's informative and commanding at the same time to draw the reader in and make them feel like you're giving them a secret, while influencing what you believe is important.

What you're missing is the layout of these articles. In the magazines, usually they have a section introducing the list, and information or stories between each bullet point about that bullet point. A lot of the time today they have each bullet point being a separate page with a stereotypical image at the top. I would suggest keeping this, but adding to it by breaking out of the [#. Paragraph] style and moving to [#. Sentence / introduction, story and or support, conclusion.] If you're not a poetry buff I used the / to indicate a line break.

It's going to make this longer, but if you start out with a brief paragraph introducing the list and why you made it, and conclude with some sort of witty banter, then you're going to have a better article that will be easier to read. Right now, there's really no point to look at the list because you don't have an introduction to it, and when we get down to the last point, it seems sort of frivolous even though it's a cute point because it's a piece of information you need to know in high school. You need something to walk us in and out of the article just like we have a bun for reviews.

All in all, I really like the list, but I think it's only done half of what it could do if you filled it out giving yourself more space to explore the points, and gave us an introduction and conclusion of writing. It's really close to being a lot like magazine lists and I really like that about this piece.




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Sun Nov 15, 2015 4:09 pm
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Amindor wrote a review...



Hi jumpingsheep, Amindor here.
When I saw the title of this, I knew I was going to love it. And I do. This has some really great tips that would be of value to someone in high school, especially if they're coming in as a freshman. Well, I'm a sophomore, but it still taught me a lot, and there are no flaws in this work. I loved it and I can't wait to read and review more of your work in the future! Keep writing!




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Sun Nov 15, 2015 4:05 am
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I love this. I was looking for something to review, but this is perfect, so I'm just going to say that everything is true. Every. Single. Thing. Like, really, do you go to my school? My favorite ones are 1, 3, 8, 11, 15, 16, and 25. Keep writing stuff like this, it cheers me up! :D




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Sun Nov 15, 2015 1:14 am
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xv0nillaWriterx says...



I love all the steps, it helps a lot and im going to bring 2 dollars a day and try to behave myself. I also like when say "Take one fun class. Even with a demanding schedule, take that one college prep class in public speaking, or that cooking class that really caught your eye." This is like a break or a relax time. And students who is going to high school need to read this.Love it and keep writing. Happy Writing?





For in everything it is no easy task to find the middle ... anyone can get angry—that is easy—or give or spend money; but to do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for everyone, nor is it easy; wherefore goodness is both rare and laudable and noble.
— Aristotle