In August, thankfully, I’m starting college. What my role/label will be there, I don’t know, but I definitely know who I was in high school. All of my friends would agree that I was the type A overachiever. Chances are that you, visiting this site, have a bit of overachiever in you, somewhere. This, though, is more for the Type A people of high school.
I speak your language. I know that while most people are enjoying their summer, you’ve probably taken on a summer internship and a job and a pre-college intensive and anything else that will look good on a resume. On top of that, you’re facing a load of honors and AP courses, as well as the activities you do in your school. Sound familiar?
I’ve lived it, survived it, and want to talk about it. Throughout high school, I had my fair share of breakdowns, crying jags, stress fits, near all nighters, and a host of other maladies found in the overachiever culture. But, in the last part of my junior and senior year, I was finally able to balance all of the school stuff without collapsing into a puddle.
Some thoughts to get you through:
• No matter what you’re doing, how busy you are, or what test is coming up, you have time for yourself. Even if for 15 minutes, take the “Me-time” our generation apparently invented. It will get you through. Feel free to take time out from studying at various times during the night.
• Caffeine is your biggest frenemy. On the one hand, it will keep you up, keep you going, and make long study sessions easier. Caffeine also has a way of showing up in the tastiest things (coffee, tea, chocolate, ice cream, chocolate) making it a joy to consume. However, you will crash. And the crash will be ugly. Like the Great Crash of ’29, only in your body. Suddenly, you will have no energy. It also screws with the nasty bits of your digestive system as well if you’re not careful. Also, let’s face it, all that coffee, ice cream, and chocolate isn’t exactly good for your skin or your health. The same is true for energy drinks. They’ll get you going, but you’ll crash and possibly wreck your body.
• Talk to friends as much as possible. Keep your friends up to date on your life and schedule time for them. Be social as possible while maintaining your grades. Not only will this get you out of your house and get you active, you will lead a richer life and have someone to catch you. Your friends should know if you’re driving yourself crazy and be there to help you through it. The last thing you want if you hit rock bottom is no one to help pull you up.
• Compete with yourself and no one else. No college is going to care what the person next to you did. Strive to do better than you thought you could, not for the accolades of others. The work will be easier, and you’ll actually gain something from it instead of just a pretty transcript.
• Finally, don’t beat yourself up too much. It’s high school, it’s rough, but you can live through it. A few B’s here and there are not going to kill you. Colleges are not going to strangle you, your parents will still love you, friends still think you’re cool, and you’ll still be smart. Nothing is worth hurting yourself or others, and at the end of the day, the work you’ve done will stand on its own.
