Although it feels like the Christmas vacation just started, here we are almost to its end. So are you ready (those of you who have to return) to go back to school?
Going back to school usually takes a lot of mental preparation for me. I don’t know about everyone else, but during the vacation (especially Christmas), I tend to go into a “vacation” mode. This means that I’m just not in the frame of mind to do work. So I tend to put off any holiday assignments for the last week of the vacation. However, that becomes a problem when you begin to realise the volume of work that you’ve been assigned to do, ultimately inducing a “last-minute” panic.
Putting that aside, it’s good to welcome the new school term with optimism. Set some achievable goals, and work towards them. If you’re like me, in Sixth Form, CAPE is right around the corner, so start planning how you’re going to pass those exams. Maybe you want to get more involved in school events, or you have a highly anticipated club activity coming up. Either way, these are all reasons you should look forward to the new term. It is a chance to improve you. So why not make a plan to help accomplish this?
Remember though, that this plan will not always go exactly as you expect. You have to be lenient sometimes, and understand that there are often unavoidable obstacles that will set you back. You shouldn’t pressure yourself to do everything perfectly. If it doesn’t work right this term, then there’s always another one. Use those difficult times constructively, and let them help you develop. If you fall out with a close friend, use that experience to teach you how you should interact with persons in the future. If a teacher gives you a “hard” time, then use that to build resilience. Things aren’t going to get easier in college or the work place, so it’s better to learn now. And if something unethical occurs, learn from now how to appropriately report such incidents. It could help you in an even more dangerous situation in the future.
So it’s time to get prepared. Paper those books, buy some new stationery, and resolve to do well this term. We can do this! Even if we complain, about it deep down we know that high school will be one of the fondest times of our lives.
