When high school students think of school, long hours of homework, deadlines and stressing on exams is what usually comes to mind. It is not a very good time. However, if we think back to our elementary days, it’s a totally different perspective. For me, I remember loving to come to school. I was always excited to learn new things and I actually had a good time at school. Upon thinking about this more, I realized that in addition to the added pressures of preparing for college, the major difference from elementary to high school students is in their mentality. In today’s blog, I will be sharing some tips that may change your perspective on school and help to make school more enjoyable. With a positive mentality, school may not only become potentially fun, but it opens the door to better academic performance because you will be excited to learn.

The first tip is pretty obvious, but in our day to day life, we tend to forget how lucky we are to have certain things. I may feel like I don’t like school because of how stressful it is, but reminding myself how much of a privilege receiving education really is helps me to appreciate school and have a better day. This mentality of thankfulness may help to ease a lengthy lecture or a tedious assignment because you will feel like although it is mentally strenuous, it is to your benefit and is something that you are lucky to have.

Another tip that we actually learned in our advisory classes, is the idea of a growth mindset. Growth mindset is the idea that although you may not be able to do something at first, achieving this task can be done through dedicated hard work and consistent practice. A big part of a growth mindset is creating goals. Setting goals is tricky because if you set impossible goals, you may never feel accomplished. However, if you set daily goals which require work but are still attainable, you could feel accomplished every day and it would boost your mood. It is often said that a growth mindset can result in a “love for learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” In other words, having the mindset that you can accomplish anything with hard work will enable you to complete more tasks because you will not give up after one failed attempt. In my life, I’ve struggled with math throughout all my years of school. I used to tell myself that I hated math and that I would never be good at it, but changing my mindset and taking steps to improve rather than accept defeat has really changed the game for my relationship with math. I signed myself up for tutoring and asked more questions in class instead of letting myself be confused. I set small goals everyday like mastering two concepts a day or dividing my homework so I did 10 problems in 30 minutes in order to maximize my time. When I did this, I felt better about myself and better about math in general. I felt accomplished knowing that I was getting better slowly but surely.

The last tip for improving school life and maintaining a positive mentality when times get tough is staying organized. Although it sounds obvious, small actions like using a planner so you don’t forget assignments or setting reminders for upcoming tests will make a world of a difference. Proper planning will allow you the time you need to complete things thoroughly and give you time to prepare for important things such as tests. Organizing your assignments will also minimize stress. If your work is easily accessible, you will be more likely to work on it and turn it in on time. Personally, seeing a messy stack of miscellaneous papers makes me stressed out and not want to go through it at all.  Investing in a binder or a couple folders to divide your work by class is a good tip. One thing that I do that helps me organize my papers, is to separate my notes and handouts I receive in class from my homework and things I have to work on.

Although these tips aren’t from a professional, they have helped me a lot through high school and I hope they help you too. Remember to stay positive and remember that your classmates are all going through the same stress.