Life Advice / Tips & Tricks

☀ Starting High school/Middle school☀

⫸ Map:
I guarantee you every school has a map (they need them in order to plot emergency exit plans) and you can get these either by popping into your school office and asking the people at the front desk if they have one or by just looking online. mark the location of your classes on the map, jot down your class schedule, and keep it out with you until you can figure out how to get to your classes by memory.

⫸ Ask For Help:
my first day of high school I was walking all over the damn place for a good 20 minutes looking for a classroom before I finally went to the front office and asked for directions (i had somehow entirely missed a wing of the school in my wanderings and that was where the class was, yikes). teachers and other adult staff are the best to ask but if none are around found a kid that looks older than you and ask them. someone will know where you need to go and will be able to point you in the right direction, you just have to be willing to ask them as soon as you've realized you have no clue where the hell you're going instead of walking around like a lost duck for so long as i did.

⫸ Lockers:
write your locker combination down somewhere that's easily accessible. even if you're like "ha! it's only three numbers, i can remember that!" write it down. and if you're not comfortable or familiar with using combination locks, look up how to use them online - watch a video or two - and maybe write the instructions for which way to turn them down too. it's not hard but it can be tricky, especially if you've never used a combo lock before and you're already dealing with new school jitters that can throw you off.

⫸ Rules:
familiarize yourself with the rules of your school. your teachers will probably give you a rule booklet on your first day but if not then the rules are likely available to view online. this tip isn't here to be a buzzkill but to caution practicality: different schools have different rules. some of those rules may be weird, some may be unfair, but in any case it's always a good idea to know what is/isn't allowed in your school so you can avoid doing anything that might get you punished (or at least so you'll know that you should hide what you're doing so you don't get caught). specifically be sure you know rules that are about your school's dress code, their policy on snacks and drinks in the classroom (this may be something you need to ask individual teachers about as well, as different teachers may have different views on this), whether phones or other devices are allowed in school, and if you take any kind of medications (down to an over the counter Tylenol or Benadryl) whether you're allowed to bring those or if you need to fill out some kind of form to get permission first.

⫸ Period:

if you're someone who has a period make sure you have a small bag of necessary supplies with you in your bookbag. include a few pads, tampons, or whatever you use. different schools have different policies on bringing medication (such as ibuprofen, Tylenol, or other pain killers you might use for cramps + other period symptoms) so please be aware of what your school's policy is before you bring a bottle of pills or even a few loose pills to school with you; even if it's an over the counter drug you can still get in trouble for bringing it to school without permission. if you're not sure of your school's policy your best bet is to drop by the school nurse's office and ask them about it. don't be too embarrassed to talk about period stuff with them, school nurses have seen/heard everything and they are not going to judge you.

⫸ Lunch:
don't freak out about where to sit at lunch. seriously. movies and tv shows make a big deal about this (mean girls, anyone?) but in reality, it's just not that big of a deal. if you're lucky you'll share a lunch period with people you know and like and will be able to sit with them but if you don't then don't worry too much about it, either. try finding a table that seems mostly empty and sit down there. people you don't know will probably sit with you and this is okay—you're not obligated to introduce yourself but you're also not obligated to not introduce yourself either, be polite and maybe smile and say hey if you want or just nom your food and mind your business. these kids are no different from you, they just want to eat, and chances are they'll be perfectly fine. if you can't find a mostly empty table, then look for an empty seat next to someone who looks more focused on eating. ask them if you can sit there. 9 times out of 10 they will say yes. sit, eat, wait for the bell, go. repeat the next day. eventually, it'll just be another part of the routine.