I truly believe that the last two years have been some of the best years of my life as I have just grown so much as a person.

So, just like I did in Year 12, here are some of the highlights of sixth form which makes me feel quite emotional! I will also In Sha Allah make articles for advice for Year 12s and Year 13 to help you all out!

A Levels:

For those of you who don’t know, I have done A Levels Biology, Chemistry and Maths throughout the two years of sixth form and also an Extended Project Qualification in Year 12. Alhamdulillah! I say that because Allah teaches us to say Alhamdulillah regardless of the situation we are in. Because despite these A Levels being subjects that I adore to this day, I still had challenges to get through. I still remember the Year 12 Surobi who would be upset over grades that were lower than she expected which she considered ‘bad grades’. But this was not only a test of my academic knowledge, but it was also a test of building my character. I remember those times (even yesterday) where I would feel so tired but I would push myself to just do one more question and keep going! But, also I reminded myself that mental health comes first. When you prioritise yourself, work hard and have faith in Allah, everything works out in the end. And Alhamdulillah, I was still able to sit all of my exams successfully. I would have that big smile on my face when I finally started seeing improvements in my grades. So, to all the students out there, don’t give up! It will work out in the end!

Throughout sixth form, my favourite subjects fluctuated. But with all honesty, majority of the time, for me I loved Biology the most! I just love how AQA Biology can just get deeper and deeper and you are constantly forced to keep asking ‘why?’ ‘So what?’ Yes, the specificity of the mark schemes would annoy me sometimes but, I love learning processes and cycles, something that Biology encapsulates around!

Next up, was Chemistry for me! It would be a disservice to myself if I hid the fact that I actually disliked Chemistry in Year 12! So I will tell you right now, I did not really enjoy Chemistry in the beginning! But as soon as I found the right revision techniques (which I will In Sha Allah share one day!) it really skyrocketed my learning and I started loving Chemistry. There was one point where Chemistry even took over Biology because of how addictive doing the questions were. (But Biology is still my favourite, sorry).

And last but not least, Maths was at the bottom! Don’t get me wrong, I love Maths and that’s why I picked it. But A Level Maths is quite different to GCSE Maths and this really challenged my problem solving skills. It was frustrating at times sitting there trying to work out the answer and the range of questions available in Maths is huge! But again, once I worked out how best to revise, it really helped me!

So, yes, that was a very brief overview of my A Level subjects. My most creative project was the EPQ, as it allowed me to broaden my knowledge on a topic related to the degree I applied for as well as also being able to communicate with others! 

I hope that I can continue broadening my knowledge just like these A Levels have done for me! Have exams been stressful? Yes. But has doing the subjects I am passionate and enthusiastic about also helped? YES ABSOLUTELY!

Teachers:

Okay, of course I cannot name any of the teachers due to privacy. But what I will say is that every teacher I had during my A Levels have helped me in some way. Maybe some to teach me content, others to scare me or others to provide free entertainment! One piece of advice I have to anyone and everyone is to make teachers your best friends. Please do not try to act cool and upset your teachers because a) they are just humans trying to do their jobs b) they don’t deserve mistreatment, just like any other person and c) they will want to help you more if you help them! 

If you have a teacher whose teaching style you don’t understand, try your best to understand but if you can’t, go and seek help from a teacher whose teaching style you do understand. Perhaps, ask for their timetable or when they are free and ask them then! Also, seek help from your friends too, that can help!

Friends:

Friends. These are the people who come to your life for a reason, and usually only for a season. I can safely say that I have made better friends as every year the more I grow and level up, so does my friend circle with the mercy of God. Friends can be amazing as they can empathise with you, joke around with you and also make you learn new things. But also, they can get you involved in drama too. This is why it is so important to not get attached to a group of people. These people are amazing but I did subconsciously get attached to some drama but Alhamdulillah I detached from it, and I never did anything that broke my boundaries and values. I followed my gut on who to stop talking to and who to keep in my life.

That is the most important thing. Always stick to your boundaries and values and be yourself regardless of who is there and regardless of the situation. Follow your gut on who to keep in your life.

Social Life:

So did I actually get to go out with my friends? Yes and no. Yes, with some friends I did go out who needed my energy at the time. So for example, one great memory I have is where we had a girls’ Iftar this year in Ramadan in one of my friend’s houses. It was such a great way to bring the sisterhood together. But there were also a lot of the times where we had to cancel the plans because either I or my friends were busy. And I am here to tell you, that is okay! Because firstly, you do need to sacrifice quite a lot for the good grades in A Levels and also 2 years is not a very long time to be able to talk to everyone! So yes, have a social life but don’t let it overpower your education and goals!

Social Media:

For the past two years, the three social media apps that I really used was: YouTube, Pinterest and Snapchat. I think that Instagram and TikTok can be quite addictive and distracting so that was one of the main reasons why I avoided these apps. This was one of the best decisions because I really focused on my education without these apps and it meant I had more time to do things such as travelling. I feel that you should only have these apps if it will benefit you or if you are building a brand.

Health:

Alhamdulillah, I do believe that my health has improved and two of the main things that really helped me was having a growth mindset and also learning how to destress. Having a growth mindset means that instead of beating yourself up, you instead ask what you learned and you try your best not to make mistakes. Learning how to destress ensures you don’t burn out. These are things that can really help your mental and physical health. 

I also had higher levels of physical activity during sixth form as I walked from home to school with my heavy bag (sometimes 9kg, which I do not recommend!). This was roughly a 40-minute walk but I really enjoy walking!

Religion:

Everyone’s journey with religion is completely unique and my story is no different. Some of the key events in sixth form that led me to getting closer to my religion are: praying in school, finding religious friends and also going to Islamic events. 

I even started wearing the headscarf (Hijab) in February of Year 13 because I really feel that Islam is part of my identity and this is a commitment to my faith.

My best tip would be to stay consistent in your Salah 5 times a day every day and I have made a variety of articles on this topic here. 

Extracurriculars:

I had to do quite a few extracurriculars within my school, some of which you can now check out on my Linkedin profile. Extracurriculars are great to have a work-life balance but some of the extracurriculars outside of school that I have been passionate about is my blogging and podcasting. 

I haven’t been as consistent on my podcast over the past year just because my sister has moved out and we have been quite busy. I have been consistent on my blogs here and on Medium, but I have stopped posting for the last few weeks due to exams. But In Sha Allah, I plan to be quite active on these platforms over the summer so stay tuned and follow me on these platforms.  

These were some of the highlights from these past two two years of sixth form! I will truly miss my sixth form because there were some amazing people and vibes, I was able to grow as a person and also really liked the environment! Now, I am on my summer holidays for the next 2-3 months and I have now started a new TikTok account to document my memories and share some more of my knowledge. Check out and follow my TikTok account here: https://www.tiktok.com/@surobiscribbles 

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

Disclaimer: Of course, take all my tips with a pinch of salt and do what works for you!

The Exams I Had:

If you don’t already know, I study the A Levels Biology, Chemistry and Maths. For my school, every subject had one paper for the mock, covering pretty much everything that we have learnt since the start of Year 12. However, for Maths there were two papers. Before the Easter holidays, we were given our mock exam timetable spanning all the papers we had to sit. 

I had: 19th April – Chemistry Paper

20th April – Biology Paper

22nd April – Maths Paper 1

25th April – Maths Paper 2

First Day – Chemistry Exam

This was my first exam and I was fasting that day! The day before was quite stressful, so I woke up feeling okay. I did some light revision in the morning, and we had to be there by 1:20pm for the exam to start at 1:30. I arrived early, and chatted to my friend for about 20 minutes and just relaxed. At around 1:30, we entered the exam hall and my school provided stationery for every student already. I sat down and I did my paper. I then went home after that exam.

What I learned was:

1. Do little to no revision in the morning of the exam to ensure you don’t get stressed (preferably stop revising at least 6-7 hours before).
2. Arrive early for your exam but not too early and perhaps stay with friends that you are close to and who possibly don’t do the same subjects as you.
3. Make sure you bring the right equipment for your exams (for sciences and maths, calculators are essential!)
4. Time management is key during the exams to not run out of time.
5. Try to ignore others’ comments after the exam and try not to stay there too long after the exam.

Second Day – Biology Exam

For this exam, I had an early start. I woke up at around 7:15, so I was running a little late but this meant that I did not have time to stress. I then went to school and arrived on time and did the exam. After the exam, I went home immediately, but I did take some time to walk from my school to a bus stop to allow time to reflect on how the paper went.

What I learned was:

1. Feel the stress as early as possible.
2. Accept that there will probably always be some sort of problem during the exam, e.g. stomach rumbling, feeling hot and so on.
3. Have everything ready so you can go to your exam even if you are running out of time.
4. Keep the momentum throughout the whole time of the exam and try to leave at least 5-10 minutes at the end to check over your answers.
5. Allow yourself time to reflect how the exam went whether it is positive or negative, but do not dwell on it. As soon as you reach home, try not to think about it. 

Third Day – Maths Paper 1

This exam was quite memorable. This exam happened during the afternoon. I was fasting on this day (as for the previous two exams too), and I was quite hungry as this exam took place in the afternoon. I arrived quite early for my exam, felt quite stressed and then did my exam. After the exam, my peers and I did discuss how the exam went, which was quite inevitable. 

What I learnt was that:

1. If you are fasting during Ramadan, make sure to have foods that will take long to digest throughout the whole day and keep a healthy diet.
2. Please try to be comfortable before, during, and after an exam. Talk to people who will actually uplift you, not make you feel stressed. Don’t talk about the exam. 
3. Make your own mind up on how an exam went before discussing it with others. Otherwise, you may get influenced by others’s comments on the exams.
4. Give yourself a break after the exams, especially if you are fasting and you are tired.

Fourth Day – Maths Paper 2

This exam went okay. The thing about this exam was that I had lessons right after this exam. This meant that everyone moved on from the exam pretty quickly.

What I learnt:

1. Surround yourself with people who will uplift you and take your mind off the exam after the exam.
2. After your last exam, reward yourself! I went to Primark after school and bought some clothes!

Final Thoughts:

Overall, my mock exams were somewhat of a rollercoaster. There were some exams that went better than others and also my mood differed during different days.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed making it! And good luck to those taking exams in the future!

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

I have just finished my second term of sixth form (Year 12), and I thought I would share my experiences. Alhmadulillah, I also have 100% attendance meaning that I have went to sixth form every day, so hopefully, I will be able to reflect on some of the things I have done for the past few months.

So let’s get started:

A Levels:

Now if you don’t already know, I do the A Levels Biology, Chemistry and Maths and I also do an EPQ. These A Levels are quite complex, yet I love these subjects! My journey with my A Levels so far have been a rollercoaster. Sometimes, I have been soaring through the work and understood everything and at other times, I would be upset when I didn’t understand something or got a lower grade. But, I think that doing these subjects and going on this A Level journey has taught me two main things:

A Levels are supposed to be challenging and everyone finds it to be a lot, so keep working hard.

Doing A Levels actually builds your character as sometimes, you just have to be extremely resilient and keep working until you hit those top grades.

I have changed uup some of my revision techniques, and also organised myself and my revision much better. And that is okay! You are on your own journey so focus on yourself and keep improving yourself!

Teachers:

I have to say that I am very grateful for all my teachers. My teachers do teach me quite well. Of course, I do believe that you might prefer the teaching style of one teacher over the other but I have to say that all my teachers do want us to succeed, and they do know all the effort that I am putting in for my subjects. One downside is that since my school is an academy consisting of a primary, secondary and sixth form, it can be difficult at times to talk to teachers privately, but this has taught me the next lesson which is:

You need to seek help from teachers if it is needed, so don’t be lazy or shy. Just go and seek help, however difficult it is!

Friends:

My friend circle has changed so much since the last article I made. I started with having one main friend I would always hang out with but I now have many more friends Alhamdulillah. I am a strong believer that it is better to have many networks with different people and talk to different people rather than to just stick to one person, because if that one friend leaves you, it can be difficult. I have made friends outside of my subjects as well and that can be quite good to give a fresh new perspective too. Stick to friends who align with your energy.

Social Life:

I do spend time with my family and friends alongside my studies which is great. I remember this one time where I had 4 tests on a Friday on the same day, so my friends and I went to the shopping mall after school and I had some bubble tea! That was great! In terms of spending time with my family, I have went shopping several times with my mother and chat to my family regularly!

Social Media:

My social media intake has been quite positive (as usual). My main form of communication outside of school with my friends is Snapchat. And I love to use YouTube and Pinterest too! Instagram is a no-no currently!

Drama:

There has been a little drama in my sixth form but it is not too serious. I think that drama is a part of school life but I would strongly advise not to overindulge in it which is why I am always aware of my surroundings but I don’t dive into the drama. 

My Highlights of These Two Terms:

• Seeing an improvement from your grade last time makes me feel so happy and pushes me to work harder!
• Gaining support and help can take some level of vulnerability but it also shows courage so if you need help, go ask for it! 
• You will have good and bad days so it is important to have that balance of managing your own emotions but also seeking support.
• The people who you are friends with align your energy, so take a good look at your friends, and see if these are the people who you would be happy representing.
• Journaling after school can help to reflect on your progress, spend some time in gratitude and check up on how you are feeling.

These past two terms have been absolutely amazing! I have enjoyed these past two terms of sixth form and going to school every day has helped me to stay organised, keep my routine structured and not fall behind in work. I also do extracurricular activities outside of school which is also quite fun and keeps my mind off work at times.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article, as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

Please remember to share this article with anyone who goes to school or sixth form and see if you guys can relate to any of the experiences I have had.

Thank you so much for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

FAQ about me:

• I received my GCSE results this year in August and I have now moved into a new sixth form.
• My sixth form does have its own secondary school which meant that some internal applicants came to my sixth form. 
• I have taken three A-levels which are Biology, Chemistry and Maths. I am also doing an EPQ.
• I have now just finished my first month in my new sixth form.

My Feelings Before Going To Sixth Form:

Before I went into sixth form, I felt a mixture of emotions. Some of the feelings I felt were a rush of excitement but also I had a knot in my stomach as I was an external applicant into the school and I had to be in a completely new environment. It is very normal to feel this way and rest assured, most people feel like this when going into sixth form, if not all!

Teachers:

Right from my first day of sixth form, I realised that the teachers were quite friendly. My teachers did emphasise that the jump from GCSEs to A-levels is quite big. They were also very open to answering any questions and the first few lessons involved the teachers mostly talking to us about the subject content. Overall, I am quite happy with my teachers but I have realised that you can’t fully rely on teachers anymore and A-levels require more independence.

Friends:

Friends are a huge aspect of how you become and your journey throughout sixth form. As an extroverted individual, I was able to make some new friends, Alhamdullilah. My closest friend at the moment is a girl who is in all of my classes and nearly has the exact same timetable as me! However, don’t just stick to one person. One thing I did was to try to talk to people in all of my classes, my free periods (especially in the first week) and even in the corridors. Everyone is friendly, but you have to go first!

Social Media:

This month, I also installed Snapchat. I have realised that Snapchat is the app that many sixth formers like using so I decided to install it. This has been a great way to connect with people, and I now have many friends who I can contact easily. Even within the first conversation you have with someone, you can take their Snap and it is very easy to contact them. I do not regret installing Snapchat and I would recommend installing it as long as you do not get addicted to it. 

Boys:

Now, one of the reasons why I decided to add this section is because I attended an all-girls secondary school from mid-Year 8 to the end of Year 11. I was asked if it was awkward interacting with boys in school after a long time. And the answer is…no, not really. I actually have made both male and female friends and it is okay to do that! This is a new experience for me but I think it is important to learn how to interact with both boys and girls. However, one thing I have realised is that you do need to sometimes initiate a conversation with a guy because guys can find it very difficult to do this. So, it is okay to say hi and then let it flow but also know your boundaries!

Workload:

I have always heard that the jump from GCSEs to A-levels is really big! In my opinion, I think it is much more independent learning but it is manageable. I now have 7 teachers for 3 of my subjects and they assign work through Microsoft Teams. It can get very busy but I think that staying organised, keeping on top of my work and experimenting with revision techniques has helped me a lot to maintain my workload. 

Differences:

One main difference in sixth form are free periods! My sixth form has recently allowed the privilege of going out for free periods, but for the whole month of September, we were told to stay in school in free periods. Free periods are a choice and I have eaten food, explored the school, chatted to and made new friends and studied in my free periods. 

Another difference in sixth form is the dress code. My sixth form allows us to wear our own clothes but it has to be clothes that could be worn in a ‘formal, corporate environment’. It is also compulsory to wear a blazer in school. This is different to school where it was compulsory to wear a school uniform.

Another huge difference for me was the permission to use your own laptops and phones in school. This is so we can research and use Microsoft Teams where teachers have assigned us work.

My Key Piece of Advice:

One piece of advice is to be yourself when you go into sixth form. Sixth form is an important part of your life, especially for your education so just be yourself and focus on yourself. This is a much more independent process but I think it really teaches you how to stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for yourself. 

This was my article on my sixth form experience so far for this first month! I currently have been attending every weekday and I have not missed any day of school so far Alhamdulillah. I was not able to include everything in this article but regardless, I hope you enjoyed reading this! Please share this article with your loved ones and also please stay tuned for my future A-level articles.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

So in today’s article, I will be discussing some habits you need to incorporate into your routine for this school year.

Make a to do list every day.

Making to do lists can help to prioritise and manage tasks. It can also prevent you from procrastinating. I use three planning systems. Find what works for you and make it a habit

Have a time in the day for reflection.

Amongst our busy lives; it can be extremely easy to just get caught up into it and not have the time to stop, breathe and relax. Having a time in the day set to either pray to God, meditate, perform yoga or even just recite positive affirmations really helps. As a Muslim, there are 5 prayers a day to do this.

Read books/listen to podcasts and audiobooks

Even if you dislike reading, you can still try to do this. Whether you do this as soon as you wake up or before you go to bed, it is a means of seeking knowledge. Other alternatives are listening to podcasts or audiobooks.

Exercise regularly.

Exercise is so important yet many teen students tell themselves ‘they don’t have enough time.’ It may be the reason why some teenagers end up feeling lazy. Even exercising twice a week (once in PE lessons and once in the weekend for example) can really help.

Have a good skincare routine.

Some students neglect the importance of skincare while others try way too many products and cause acne for themselves. Instead, use a few producers that actually work for you and keep it sustainable so you can perform it regularly. This skincare routine should be for your face, arms and legs.

Pack your backpack and tidy your uniform the night before.

Have you ever been in that situation where you forgot a book for class because you were packing your bag in a hurry in the morning? Make sure you are not in that situation by spending some time the night before to pack your bag and tidying your school uniform/outfit the night before school. It will save you time in the morning.

Drink enough water every day.

This is surely something that not everyone does. Drinking enough water is necessary to keep you going but it can be hard to maintain. If you drink one litre of water at home and one litre of water at school, that is pretty good.

Study at least one hour every day.

If you don’t feel like studying some day, try to study at least one hour. It will make so much more difference and it is better than doing nothing. Little but consistent revision is better than doing everything last minute. 

Have a limited screen time.

If you are using your phone 5 hours a day for using social media, chances are you are not being productive in those 5 hours. If you have an iPhone, check your settings and then screen time or download a screen time app on your phone. Check how many hours you use your phone and on which app. Then give yourself a screen time goal of how many hours you want to use your phone. 

Build some good tidying habits.

Did you just tidy your room what literally felt like 5 minutes ago, only to see that ‘a typhoon hit it’ and you have to tidy it again? Maybe it is time to regularly tidy your room. You could do this by tidying your room every night and doing a clean and disinfecting on the weekends for 15-20 minutes. It can leave you feeling like your life is together.

Those were 10 habits that I think are pretty useful. There may be more so feel free to comment below any habits that you think may boost your productivity. As always, please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

If you live in an international country, you may have to move to a new school and make new friends and if you live in the UK, you have to start your GCSEs. Nonetheless, you want to get prepared and as I am a 15-year-old teenager who has just finished Year 10 in a pandemic, I think I am in a good position to tell you some tips on Year 10. Take the tips with a pinch of salt and at your own will.

Try to make notes or revision material as you go along.

Some people may underestimate Year 10 and think that they can just take all their notes and only revise in the last month of Year 11. This is too much pressure and stress. So especially if you have started your GCSE curriculum in school already, please start making notes, flashcards, mindmaps or whatever works for you from day 1.

Have other side projects.

A lot of teenagers say that ‘they don’t have enough time’. That is wrong as everyone has the same 24 hours in a day but it’s all about how you use it. Have extracurricular activities inside or outside of school or make your own platform such as a website. This will help build time management skills but also look good in your personal statement for college.

Keep on top of your work.

This links to my first point but keeping on top of your work meaning doing your homework and revision on time saves a lot of energy, time and unnecessary stress. Make sure to write down all your homework in a planner.

Make to-do lists every day.

Speaking of writing your homework in your planner, have a planning system that works for you and make to-do lists every day.

Don’t get involved in arguments/fights.

However juicy that argument between Susan and Chanelle may be, it’s just not worth your time and stress. The drama may be tempting to join but the cons are much higher than the pros so stay out of the drama.

Have a good support system.

This is extremely important especially as a teenager entering a new confusing phase of your life. Please have someone in your life who will guide and help you out. Avoid this person being a friend at school but instead make a teacher, counsellor, parent or older sibling your mentor.

Be yourself. 

Peer pressure can get high in secondary school but stick to your own values and the ones that will make you and your loved ones proud. If you don’t want to listen to music because of your religion, don’t listen to it. If you don’t want to go out late at night, then don’t.

Learn how to deal with stress.

Stress may be something that you see in these crucial years but please learn how to deal with it. Whether it’s telling someone how you are feeling, writing it down or taking a break, learn how to deal with it.

Learn from your corrections.

If you get a bad score in your exam paper or if you have committed a mistake, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just learn from the corrections, have the intention not to repeat the same mistake again and move on. 

Stay healthy.

Many teenagers end up having wings and chips every day and then feeling tired and low afterwards. Every now and then, you can treat yourself, but please try to avoid unhealthy foods. With that being said, it also does not mean that you have to go on 20 different diets if it is not needed. Just make sure you exercise regularly and eat well.

Those were my top ten tips to survive freshman year of high school and Year 10. Comment down below which year of high school will you be going to. Please share this article with any of your secondary school friends. 

Please surf through my website for more related articles.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

So, in today’s article, I will be sharing a few tips on how to meet new people and make your best friends this year. There is no direct answer to this and these tips are not guaranteed so take these tips to a pinch of salt. But some of these tips worked for me when I moved schools back in Year 8.

Let’s get started:

Firstly, figure out which institutions you can make friends from.

School is not the only place you can make friends. You can make friends in extracurricular activities, online and also in the workplace. Try to find which are applicable to you. For example, if you attend a regular ballet class, try to make new friends from there this year.

Have a few conversation starters up your sleeve. 

If you are shy, introverted or you just want to know how to converse with someone, then make sure that you have a few conversation starters. Here are a few:

• Smile
• Introduce yourself
• Be yourself 
• Compliment them
• Try to find a similar interest e.g. if you see someone wearing a BTS t-shirt and you like BTS, then tell them you like it too and then talk to them about it
• Keep regular eye contact
• Adapt to others’ personalities (different people act a certain way)
• Ask a question about the topic or class you are in
• Keep the conversations going

Make sure not to overdo any of these. However, if you realise that the person you are talking to is not very interested, uncomfortable, or tries to move away, then chances are that they are not for you. 

Know your standards and what the characteristics are of a bad friend.

Sometimes, if you are new to making friends, you may not realise that people could trip you up. This is not always the case but just lookout for these signs.

• Making you feel uncomfortable (peer pressure or doing things you don’t like)
• Bullying you or making you feel bad about yourself
• Giving you fake promises with no justification 
• Tries to leave you out (especially in times of hardship) or refuses to be your friend

Again, don’t just judge a person if they only do any of these signs once or twice. Ensure that they have done these a couple of times and you then know that they are not for you.

After you feel like you are getting along with someone, know what to do next.

Take things slowly but if you, for example, if you are in a secondary school like me and you have a phone, possibly ask your parents if you can give them your phone number. This way, you can talk outside of school and keep in touch with them regularly. Some friends can be there to help you with your homework, while others may be there for you to go out. It is your choice of what you want to do. 

If you do go out with any of your friends, do tell your parents in advance for your safety and security especially if you are just a child or teenager.

Those were my tips on how to make good friends and possibly even meeting your best friends this year. Do not feel afraid to put yourself out there, however hard it may be.  Everyone is different and some people will like you and some won’t so just move on if needed.

Even if you are shy, don’t be afraid as they are just people like you. 

For more tips on how to make good friends, check out my podcast linktr.ee/TheChatLibrary, available in over 5 podcast platforms. 

These were my tips. Make sure to surf through my website for more information: http://surobiscribbles.com/category/advice/.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!