forum freshman advice corner(more advice from crocs)

Started July 19, 2020 by @croccin-champagne

tune

Your having fun and living life and learning lessons stories will make much better college app essays than "How I stressed myself out trying to maintain a 4.0 gpa and killed my social life" I promise

Should I try and make a good impression on everyone? Like, especially the teachers. I always like being friends with teachers… But also I know that what I wear will make people think weirdly of me. I don't know what to do, highschool's a whole different universe from the school I've been going to since kindergarten.

Pretty much, find out how much you think you can give, know you can do more than that healthily (as long as you aren't thinking you can do amazingly at everything), and know that sometimes is the time to push and sometimes it's not worth it. Burning out made me get a 2.8 in a five credit I could've gotten a 4.0 in without working too hard. Though the professor was also a bit unreliable…

I’d work hard (as in, doing the work) to impress the teachers, but if you’re easy to work with and participate a whole lot, the teachers will grow to like you. And remember that they’re human too! Ask questions about their units and work to grow the both of you as you individuals.

Should I try and make a good impression on everyone? Like, especially the teachers. I always like being friends with teachers… But also I know that what I wear will make people think weirdly of me. I don't know what to do, highschool's a whole different universe from the school I've been going to since kindergarten.

Bruh. Snuggle up to the teachers. Be respectful. Talk in class whenever appropriate. Stay late or come early and see if you can shoot the breeze with teachers you like. If you feel up to it (I pretty much never was) visit them in office hours. If they hang by the cafe, chill with them if they're cool enough for that. Your style will make you stand out. If you want my advice for seating, second row (third is decent if it's a big class) on the side (right or left) the teacher talks from. Sit in the same seat whenever possible. Most do. But doing so will strengthen your presence. Kinda like being on NB a lot gives you a Presence.

Should I try and make a good impression on everyone? Like, especially the teachers. I always like being friends with teachers… But also I know that what I wear will make people think weirdly of me. I don't know what to do, highschool's a whole different universe from the school I've been going to since kindergarten.

Don't be a total bitch, but don't be a suck up. Y'know? Don't try to hard to be friends with everyone, but don't push people away. Teachers are fine. Just be nice and friendly and the teachers that are friendlier with the students will do the thing and those that don't will just think of you as a polite little angel

Being friendly with teachers is fine. In fact, having positive relationships can help you get recommendations and other things that might be harder to come by otherwise. I don't think "teacher's pet" was ever a phrase I heard in high school.
If it's easy enough, maintain a good GPA, go for it, but don't stress yourself out too much over it. I promise that if you want to go to college there is someone who will take you, even if you have a lower gpa.

Oh and also be sure to do all the work for the class so if you crash they give you an extension or whatever bc you've been a good student.

And also, the professors you hang with best are good candidates for the sweet sweet recommendation letter.

Oh and also be sure to do all the work for the class so if you crash they give you an extension or whatever bc you've been a good student.

^^^^
some teachers give everyone a pass or two anyway, but they always mention it on the first day and do not bank on it. Do the work when you want to slack off so that way if something happens, you have that to fall back on. And it's easier to stay on top of things when you don't have two days of work to do. Also, honestly gets you really far. If something's going on at home and you couldn't get something done, let them know that something's happening and you've been really stressed or didn't have time to do something, if not what exactly. You can't really use this a whole lot with most teachers because they'll start to question you or think you're making stuff up. Usually they'll start to be less patient but it's good to let them know anyways. If you think something might happen soon or you're like wow it's been a while since the big sad hit, I think it will soon, get your stuff done as soon as you get it because a lot of teachers will say "I gave you a while to do it, why didn't you do it then?"
For the most part, teachers have a little sympathy. The heartless demons become substitutes, not full-time teachers. And in case anyone doesn't already know, be nice to subs. They're easy to impress, they have rough jobs, and they're snitches

What should I do about friends? I've lost almost all of them, and I feel that I talk way too much in an effort to make them pay attention to me. I've been seriously considering turning into the quiet person, which would be a massive turnaround for me, but I somehow feel compelled to do this. I mean, if they're gonna ignore me, I might as well embrace it. Maybe they'd like me more if I wasn't as loud and in-their-face.
_{plus if im not talking i can listen to everyone else's drama which is sometimes entertaining}

sometimes it's just time for a change. be it acquiring new friends, taking on a new 'role', or whatever you need to do. honestly, if your friends aren't giving you any sort of attention that most people put into a relationship, try making new ones. but if you want to be the quiet kid, it'll also make finding the better ones a bit easier, because those will be the ones who want to talk to you and reach out

That's kind of my logic. If I'm not constantly reaching out, I'll find who really cares about me.
_{gosh that sounded cheesy}

Also, I had absolutely no friends in one of my classes last year, and it was honestly a fun change of pace for me, the girl who always got in trouble for talking in class, to get to be silent. idk if I'll like doing it for a whole year instead of just one class, but it just made me feel peaceful in a way.

sometimes it's nice to not feel like you constantly have to talk. honestly people are so draining when you're nonstop exposed to them for hours a day

do what makes you feel comfortable and what you think will help, and everything will start to kind of fall into place around you. or, at the very least, present itself as an opportunity

Honestly, just be whoever you are comfortable being, and the right people will find you. Moving into high school is really not the big change it's made out to be. You shouldn't change who you are at the core. If you are happiest reaching out to others, do that. It's up to you, and there is no wrong answer. I think the best advice I can give you for making high school friends is trying to meet people through clubs and such. That's where you're going to find people with common interests.

tbh I need new friends lmao

You don’t want to do what I did and just keep like, two friends, though. Definitely stop hanging out with them if what they do makes you uncomfortable or they’re not putting the same amount of effort you are into the relationship. And if it makes you feel any better, you’re probably not gonna know them after high school.

Yeah, I ditched most of my high school friends on purpose except for my childhood friend who's legit one of my favorite people, and a couple of others who I play dnd with. High school friends can be forever friends, but it's important to note they don't have to be.
Socially, most people didn't seem to change much from middle to high school. So like I said, not as big of a deal as people make out of it.

Thanks guys :) you guys are honestly quite supportive, and thank you for answering some of my questions.

There's this instagram account exposing my school and some of the stuff there is just…wtf.

apparently those kind of accounts are very common but all of the 'tea' they claim to have is just 'so and so cheated' but they never give any specifics and it's like yeah that's. i hate to say it but sometimes highschool kids are like that

No its a blm account and they're sharing these anonymous stories from students.

oh damn that was not the kind of account i saw for my school

what's. what's the 'fuck' part of what the fuck with that?

Well, there are several stories about teachers being racist, Islamophobic, disrespecting students with disabilities, and a really creepy one about a this one teacher basically obsessed with a student.

that sounds about right

my middle school social studies teacher hated any kid who was openly not straight and treated any disabilities that i was aware of as bullshit and just 'behavioral issues'

it doesn't surprise me at all that there are teachers out there exactly the same, but racist. also teachers can be downright creepy