A maze to find your class while crowded hallways make the struggle real.The first week of highschool is very nerve wracking. Your friends might have different classes than you, you might not know anyone to sit with at lunch or you might have no idea where your classes are. As much as it seems like right now that high school is going to be the most miserable four years of your life, it will also be the best if you set yourself up for success with these following tips:

• Actually try in all of your classes. At this point friends and extracurricular activities seem like the most important thing. They are not. Keeping up with your grades is a must. It is easier to try your first year of highschool then having to get your GPA up two years later.
• Create relationships with your teachers. It is so crazy to think that teachers have feelings, but they do. They actually care or they would be somewhere in the government. Just asking one of your teachers how their day is going will go a long way. Plus if you fall behind they will be more willing to catch you up if you actually care. Your teachers are human.
• Go to class. You don’t look cool missing class and hanging out in the hallway. Plus, it will be so awkward if your teacher sees you missing their class. As much as you don’t want to learn the trigonometric functions, they will help you out on the ACT.
• Be smart about your social media. Don’t post anything that you would not want your kids to see. This is a completely new generation where decades from now your child could see what you posted in eighth grade. As cliché as it sounds, everyone will see it no matter how private you try to make it.
• Make friends with everyone. You never know who is going to be the next CEO of Apple. The more friendships you maintain the more connections you will have in your future. Plus, you are more likely to get hired by someone you know than being a random person with a resumé.

• Popularity should never be a priority. Once high school ends, you are just another person. It doesn’t matter if you were popular in high school. That boy that has different hobbies than you do is cooler than you think. Popularity will not make high school experience better nor will it make it worse.
• Don’t plan your life around one person. Odds are things won’t be the same in a few years. Your high school sweetheart will probably go to a different college than you. You will also regret the events that you missed out on. Think Homecoming is lame? Well dancing with your friends and getting all dolled up isn’t too bad. It is about the experience.
• Get sleep. By senior year, you will be taking naps right after school. Hanging out with your friends won’t be as important as sleep is. Manage a good sleep schedule and follow it. Staying up all night for a test isn’t going to help you. It is going to hurt you.
• Be yourself. It is a very awkward stage right now where you are expected to act like an adult yet still have to ask to go to the bathroom. You will always be you. You might change, but learn how to defend yourself. Learn how to take a stand when everyone else is following one person. Create a thick skin so that the senior bully isn’t the person you are thinking about before bed.

High school will get better. Try to do your best. There will always be bumps in the road, but use these tips to have the best four years of your life.