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بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم Assalamu Alaikum Everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are having an amazing day wherever you are in the world! May Allah bless and shower you and all those you love with happiness and health. I pray to Allah that this post finds you well and you were able to reflect and find peace during these unprecedented times. For today's post, I decided to post something a little different. I will be entering my final year of high school, and thought that maybe this is a good time to share some high school advice with my fellow readers. As well, I have finally created my YouTube channel and uploaded my very first YouTube video, Alhamdullilah. Thus, if you would like to watch the YouTube version of this feel free to watch the following video. I truly appreciate your continued support, and I would be more appreciative to see your support on my channel. Anyways, you can consider this blog post more of a transcript for the video. I wanted you to have more than one way to access this information. So let's get started. In celebrating (or not) the new school year, I wanted to help you rock this school year and make it the best yet. This blog post will be a high school survival guide with all my advice to freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. I will be a senior in this upcoming school year, but I feel like I have gathered quite a bit of knowledge and advice throughout my high school career. Anyways, inshAllah you will find this blog post insightful and helpful! FRESHMAN ADVICE So starting off with freshmen, you guys are the newbies in high school. Its probably very nerve-racking for you, especially considering that this school year will be very strange one. First of all, I want to let you know not to be nervous starting off this school year. Entering high school is not as bad as people make it seem.
That being said my first tip for you is try not to be immature or way too mature to the point where you are stuck up. Remember this is your first year and probably the first time many students and teachers will get to meet you. Thus, you want to have a good impression on them.
That being said please be kind to everyone, and treat everybody like you want to be treated. Don’t bully, cause sis it is not cute. Bullying has such a detrimental effect on its victims, so don’t ever be the bully in any situation. Adding on to that, don’t act like you are superior or you are above everybody. You want to be remembered for being kind and not being a bully and mean.
It is so important that you enter high school with good intentions ready to start new and good study habits. Enter high school having the mindset of wanting good grades and the fact that you will work towards being the best person you can be. Don’t enter high school thinking that you won’t do well or that its jail or whatever. Just take a deep breath and write down the goals you want to achieve this school year. Write down what grades you will aim for, what skills you want to build, what kind of person you want to be at the end of your freshman year or even high school career.
Since we are talking about grades, my next tip is to truly focus on your school work and try to get those grades. Stay focused during all your classes. This means that don’t use your phone during class or while you are studying or doing homework. Some people will try to tell you that grade nine is not important and you should not care too much about your grades. This is so not true. Hunny what are you saying. Grade nine is the foundation of your high school, and in some places they do look at your grade nine grades. This means that pay attention to the teacher and the lesson that is being taught. Attend all your classes, and don’t skip just to go eat and hang out wit some friends. This will help you stay on top of your school work and organized. Staying organized is so important if you want to be a straight A student. Have planners and don’t do assignments the night before. I know a lot of us like to pull all nighters just because we decided to do an essay or study for a test the night before. You never want to be behind and drowning in work.
That being said, try to get involved in your school community and join as many clubs as possible. That is if you are able to, and ms rona don’t cancel everything this school year. This will help you make friends, meet new people and its something to put on your cv or resume. At this point you should start planning out what your future will look like and what things you are truly interested in.
Now making friends in high school is not as important as you think and it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have any. You want to befriend people that help you become a better student not pull you down. You want to befriend people that make you feel good and are not mean. When I was in grade nine, I had like no friends. At first that bothered me, but then I reminded myself that I need to focus on myself and only befriend those who are truly worth it. Let go of toxic friends cause sis they a disappointment, periodt.
My final tip for my young freshmen is to not be afraid to befriend teachers. I will tell you more about it towards the end of the video. But it is so important to be kind to all your teachers and be in good terms with all of them. It aint cute to be disrespectful, remember dat. I know that there are some teachers that may not be the nicest and some of them are full on Karens, but be patient, you are there to get your education and leave. While you’re in class (whether online or in school) make sure to ask lots of questions, participate and ask your teachers lots of questions when needed. I know for an introvert like me, asking questions is so hard, but we have to remember that we need it for our learning and to better our knowledge. I actually heard of this Chinese proverb one time and it has stuck with me ever since. It says, “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” – Chinese Proverb SOPHOMORE ADVICE Phew, we covered so much for my freshmen, so I am expecting y’all to do good in your first year. Now we will move on to our Sophomores or grade 10 students. This is your second year of high school so you’re getting used to the momentum of high school, yet you are still at the beginning.
My first tip to my fellow sophomores is to make very good use of your summer, and this should be case for every single year of high school. Use your summer for volunteer opportunities, maybe consider getting a job, take summer classes (which I personally my first choice). Using your summer wisely will truly pay off and benefit you in the end. If you don’t have these options available, especially because of miss rona, then consider doing online courses. There are so many platforms that are completely free and give you the opportunity to do online courses with a certificate in the end. I will link some on the home page.
I know this might seem a little bit early and you may have not decided on exactly what you want to do in the future but it’s important you start thinking about it now. To see what kind of field you are interested, go to these fairs, as they will greatly help you in getting an idea of what each field it. That way you can decide what interests you most or what you would like to know about more.
As someone who would be around 15 years old, you are qualified for several scholarships. Look into scholarships and what you need to be qualified for them. Look at what experiences you must and what type of grades you need to have. I would highly suggest talking to your guidance counsellor about scholarships as they will be able to help you identify the ones best for you. There are many great websites you can use that have a collection of scholarships you can apply to. I will leave some on the home page.
My final tip for fellow grade 10 students, kinda ties in the previous tips all together, and it is to narrow your field of interest. Meaning start thinking about what field you want to enter in the future. Think about what job you want to work in the future. This can be done through looking at what courses interest you most and in what classes do you get the highest grades in. I would definitely consider also talking to your guidance counsellor about future career paths. JUNIOR ADVICE Now we will move on to juniors, almost there guys. I know many of you have probably have heard junior year is the most stressful and hardest year of your high school career. But you have to remember junior year is only if you make it to be that way. Grade 11 is when we need to make sure we have the courses that we need before graduating the year after. As well, it is the grade where your courses really matter for post secondary, so it is really important that we get the grades we are striving for. I am probably one of the lucky few as this year was my junior year so it was not as stressful. Miss rona made us do online school, so it was quite chill. But I know how important this year is and I really want you guys to consider the tips from this video
I am probably the queen of procrastination so I have to constantly remind myself to get back to work and focus on what I am doing. Saying avoid procrastination is probably easier said than done, but there are a few things you can do to help you not procrastinate. First, turn off your phone and keep it in a different room when studying. And don’t make any excuses to use your phones. For example, if you have documents or notes on your phone, print them out. Or better yet, write them down. There are a number of studies out there that show writing your notes by hand allows you to remember the material better. You can also turn off your notifications or put your phone on do not disturb. Just little things like these to help you avoid distractions, which lead you to procrastinate. Wherever you will be doing your studying or homework, make sure it is a place that actually makes you want to study.
This next tip goes well with the next one, and it is so important. Time management can be a whole another blog post on its own. It is so important to be able to manage your time and maximize it to the best of your capability. So have a calendar or planner to organize every hour of every day of every week or every month of the year. Now I know it might seem a lot when hearing this, especially if you are not used to doing this. However, just like any habit, this is one that needs to be worked on and done constantly for it to become second-nature. If you are from Ontario, many elementary schools gave us these planners to use, they were more like booklet agendas. But they were so useful and it shows you that our schools have been trying to make us develop these healthy habits to make our life easier. Having a planner will help you have a high-level look at your commitments which helps you to prioritize activities. Not only for school, but for any other responsibilities you might have. You should always prioritize your work from most important to least important, this helps you know what tasks need to be done asap no rocky. It will also help you create a to-do list, which was literally my saviour this year. Through out the beginning of the school year, before covid, I would make a to-do list for each day even the weekends. I was able to get my homework done on time and it helped me study for tests ahead of time instead of the night before, like I used to do in grade 10. Finally, when you’re studying or doing any type of school work. Break up large work into smaller tasks. There is this method that you guys may have heard of, its called the pomodoro method, where you do that specific task for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. You continue to do that until you are done that task. However, after 4 intervals, or one hour, you take a break from 15 to 30 minutes. That way you won’t burn out and you are not over doing and stressing yourself. I know that was a lot just for time management, but seriously it is extremely not only so you can get your work done, but you are not mentally stressing yourself, which is the last thing we need. 
My next tip is to start building your resume if you have not done so already. Having a resume is sooooo important as many jobs and anything that involves applying for a particular activity, typically ask for a resume. As a high school student you may think you do not have many things to add to your resume, but there are many things you can add to your resume. Firstly, you can add any extracurriculars that you do. If you are part of any clubs or community involvement, make sure to add that. Many colleges, university and jobs look for well-rounded students. So, the more clubs or community involvement you have, the better your resume looks. If you are taking any special courses, make sure to highlight those in your resume. If you have any achievements, awards or honours, make sure to also highlight those, as they will really show your skills and strengths. If you have any hobbies or additional skills, also add those. As y’all can tell, there are many things to add on to your resume, so please take the time of day to make your resume, and as you grow and gain more skills and assets, your resume will also grow.
For my final tip for my junior friends, I want to advise to seriously take care of yourself. Junior year will ultimately be stressful and it is how we manage it that will make it tolerable. This means to get enough sleep every night, at the end of the day you health is more important than some test or assignment. Try to get at least 6 to 8 hours every night. Drink your water, eat healthy and take care of your mental health. Find somethings to be grateful and happy for everyday. Develop health habits and try to take in advise and tips from others to make not only your junior but your educational career much easier. Again, take care of yourself, your mental health, drink your water and get your sleep. SENIOR ADVICE Congratulations!!!! You made it!!!! Senior year is here and we are about to take it by storm. This is our last year, we are almost out of here, to become more independent and shape our adult life to the way we have always wanted. You are now at the top of the food chain, as they say. You have come so far, and just like many others, I want to say that I am proud of us. I have not yet technically started my senior year, so I may not be the most qualified. However, I have gathered a few tips that I think may be helpful. Not many, as you guys will probably apply the skills you have learnt throughout the last 3 years of your high career. You will continue to use the good habits you have built in those three years and develop new ones if needed.
My first tip to seniors is to take this year as mentorship. What I mean by that is by mentoring those younger than you and help them navigate through high school. You have worked so hard to reach the point you are in right now. You have been through challenging situations which have all helped you grow and learn. Now, it is time for you to take all that wisdom and pass it down to your younger schoolmates. At my high school, and many other high schools, we have a crew of juniors and seniors, which I am apart of, that works with new grade nine students to welcome them into high school. That way we can help guide them throughout high school and give them the wisdom we have. If you have a program like this, I would definitely suggest for you to participate in it, and help make high school more welcoming. If you don’t, take it upon to create such a program, or individually take a freshmen under your wing. Pass down your knowledge, wisdom and experience to those grade nine students or any new high school student. This is not for everyone, but it something that will make your last year of high school definitely memorable.
Which brings me to my next point, make the most of your senior year. For most of you, it will be your last year, so take it easy. Work hard of course, but have fun a little bit. For some of you like me, your last year will be online, which may be unfortunate, as we will miss many high school festivities. Have a list of things you want to complete this year, as long as it is rona friendly. My biggest tip for seniors is continue to pursue your dreams and achieve everything you would like to achieve.
This brings me to my next point of using your good connections with your teachers to ask them for letters of recommendation. This will be extremely helpful for job or volunteer applications. You might not be able to get those letters later in the future, so it is better to get them early on. That is why I told you during the beginning of the video to respect your teachers and build good rep with them. Anyways, thank you guys so much for reading this blog post and I really hope that you can take these tips into consideration. May Allah guide us to perfect all his obligations, and allow us to be from those who enter Paradise, inshAllah.
My Muslimah Mind 08 / 17 / 2020 at 03:20 PM
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