What has high school thought you?

Hannahbanana69
Sun, 02 Feb 2014 01:26:33 +0000

Graduating senior here.
Did you like high school? Why or why not?
I love high school (though maybe that’s only because all I can compare it to is elementary/middle school, which was a living h*ll). I love the opportunity to learn for its own sake, to take diverse electives, and to be surrounded by an intellectual environment. I’ve also made some (really 99%, actually) of my best friends in high school, and as I’m going to college with some of them as well, I think those friendships will last. There are some problems with my school, like a horrendous commute and an ever-changing administration, but overall it has been fantastic.
Are you happy about what you accomplished in high school?
Mostly. I think I could have worked harder- in middle school, I was too used to coasting, and when I finally hit a place where I needed to work to keep good grades, there was a bit of a learning curve. I work much harder now than I did in middle school, but I still feel like I coast overmuch. I’m definitely going to work on this in high school. But otherwise, I learned a LOT, discovered my passions (medicine and history), undiscovered a passion (English- not that I don’t love reading its literature and writing creatively in it, but I still can’t BELIEVE I wanted to major in it…), stayed basically status quo on a non-passion (math), tried contests and programs I never would have imagined in any other context, and, I think, became a stronger, more well-rounded, and more mature person than I dreamed I could become.
What was the biggest thing that you’ve learned about yourself/life in high school?
I won’t find motivation anywhere- I have to grow some on my own. When I’m not motivated, I become dangerously lazy and tend to slack off, but that doesn’t fly when you’ve got a lot of work, you want to pass a class, you need to get into college, etc etc.
Also, yes, I have the potential to have friends. I just didn’t discover nerds until high school :). I would not have made the friends I made in high school anywhere else and I’m extraordinarily thankful.
If you could change one thing, what would it be? Why?
Assuming I would come in remembering what it was I was supposed to change, I would find my friends a lot more quickly- I tended to be in the wrong social circles in ninth grade so it took me a while. I might possibly have self-studied precalc, but probably not.
If you could redo all your years in high school, would you?
No. It was awesome, but once is enough, and college is going to be great too.
What was your favorite class?
A tie between AP Biology, Human Genetics, and Creative Writing.
Least favorite class?
Anything containing the word “math” in the description. There are also some teachers who I just kind of clashed with, but as they taught several classes I can’t say which one was least favorite, and really it was the teacher who was the problem in each case.
How did you manage your time in high school?
I didn’t, which is something I regret. An approaching due date usually means that I have however many days before I need to start. At least one term paper (which got me a 97, incidentally) was written the day it was due.
What was your favorite thing about high school?
A tie between my friends and my classes and extracurriculars. Just being in an atmosphere where learning is valued so much is exhilarating.
Least favorite?
I’ve had some principal issues. And the commute. And math.
Rate your high school experience (socially) from 1-10.
Hard to say- my individual friends 10/10, holistically more of a 7/10
Rate your high school experience (academically) from 1-10.
9/10- I loved most of my classes but some of them I just… didn’t.