What I wish I had known in high school

Last week marked the end of my high school career (unless you count final exams which I have yet to write) and the beginning of... not being a high-school student anymore.

As I was sitting in the school hall for the last time as a high school pupil during our Valediction ceremony, I thought to myself how strange it felt singing the school song for the last time.  The past week had been a series of lasts: from the last grueling maths class to the last Inter-house Sports event where we would show the other schools our proud school spirit by cheering on our teammates. I could go on about the last couple weeks, but I got thinking about what I had learnt over the last couple of years. So I decided to compile a list of the few lessons I had gathered over the years (in no particular order of importance):

A bad grade on a test (or a couple) is not the end of the world

I am sure we have all received a not-so-great mark on a test or assignment. Its part of being a student and believe it or not, not even the smartest kids in class are immune to this ill fate. It’s a Monday morning and you studied your butt off (or you did not but you just thought with your superhuman powers you would find a way to "get by") for this History test on the Civil War.

 It counts a huge amount towards your grade average and you just have to be consistent. Your grin fades when it is a fail or not-so-great mark. You begin to cry (true story, I sometimes wished I was a slacker who didn’t care about their grades).

 Ladies and Gentleman, it is now the end of the world.

Not really. A bad grade or a couple bad grades( I have had my fair share) does not mark the end of the world, whether you are in grade 8 or even grade 12. You’re a student so just like everyone else you are not expected to know everything or be perfect. That one bad grade on a test won’t necessarily shut down your chances of studying at Princeton and working for the United Nations. You just need to keep learning until you fully understand the material.

 As cliché as this may sound, all that really matters is that you tried your best J

Not everyone has to like you (and that is okay)

Throughout high school I have managed to steer clear of the feuds or drama that is part of being in high school (OK, that is a lie). It came to my realization that that girl who always smiled at me in the corridors secretly wanted my blood (OK that is another lie).

It all started when I was elected Captain of the Netball Team in grade 11.  It was a toss up between me and Hilary* and I honestly did not care who was elected. I had never been given a leadership role before, and I knew how desperately Hilary wanted to be Captain.

It turned out that I ended up becoming Captain and she became Vice- Captain. She did not hide her disappointment. And her best friend did not hide her disappointment either. I could understand it, until hurtful things about me circulated, Hilary became cold, and words of how I did not deserve to be captain were spoken. Initially I was hurt. I felt betrayed that somebody was not happy for me (as self-centered as it may sound).

 But I got over it. Not everybody is going to be happy for you and you are always going to face criticism at some point. But you just have to keep doing what you were called to do and work as team personal feelings aside.

When teachers say: don’t leave this till last minute, please take their word for it

I feel like I don’t need to explain this one. We have all been assigned projects 2 months in advance, but for some reason we believe with our so-called Ninja skills we can produce a decent project in one day. Not all of us are capable of doing that. But the majority of us procrastinators are( myself included).

 I read somewhere that immediate gratification was more motivating than let’s say a reward that would only be attained in the long term. In this case the reward would be a completed assignment. Completing an assignment minutes before it is due is satisfying: you have proved the teacher wrong by completing it in a small amount of time. The stress and anxiety attached is just not worth it.

Sometimes we do underestimate the work given to us and the night before we realize how we have just dug a hole for ourselves. The project is more complex than it looks. My point is when you get an assignment, just start. You will save yourself so much anxiety (and coffee).

Never swallow more than you can chew

A friend of mine teasingly remarked that I was an overachiever. You know those annoying kids who join every club or society the school offers? Yeah. When I started high school, I joined as many clubs and societies I could, and I also threw in a couple sports too. Mostly because I was curious and I must have had a lot of time on my hands. I feel it is important to be exposed to different activities, be open-minded to trying something new.

But as the years progressed, academics got tougher and my time became more and more limited (and so did the amount of sleep I was getting). It seemed like I had too much to do, and I became incredibly stressed out. And as much as I enjoyed the clubs and societies I had signed up for, I felt like I was drowning in school work. Every day I had some meeting to attend, some rehearsal or a match to play in. So in my final year of high school I decided to truly focus on the activities that were meaningful to me. It was hard giving up a few sports, but you cannot be at two places at once.

Lesson: Make sure when choosing how you decide to spend your time, you are still leaving room for sleep and other things you need to function which brings me another thing...

Getting 2 hours of sleep in not wise

This is a no-brainer. It is common knowledge that sleep is extremely important, especially if you are student. And pulling an all-nighter to cram for that Biology test or complete that project is not wise.

Yes, life does happen. You may have been sick and unable to do any school work for days, or your invention for the Science fair may have turned out to be an epic fail (true story and to be quite honest those are more genuine than the dog eating the homework story).

 But sacrificing sleep for good grades is one of those things that seems like a good idea (and it may be for that particular class) but you shall suffer.

I am not going to go into details but the point is the next day you feel pretty terrible. What your teacher says goes in one ear and out the other...

Imani Dlamini

** Names have been changed.