Freshman year of high school or Year 10…sounds stressful already right? 

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. 

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Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!