GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL
September 30th, 2017
So we are all back to school now, and I know that means for the majority of students that the struggle has begun. So this month I thought it would be best if I dedicated my little advice corner to all the tips and tricks that help me survive high school.
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Tip #1- Use your planner
I seriously didn’t realize how helpful this actually was until I started doing it. Now, whenever teachers assign homework or test dates, the first thing I do is reach for my planner or type it into the remind app on my phone, and man has it saved me more times than I can count! I especially recommend this if you are a bad procrastinator.
Tip #2- Get stuff done
Come up with your own realistic study plan goals that you know you can achieve. If you have a lot of small things to do, tell yourself that in one hour you want to have three of those things on your tasklist done. The point is that when you feel that sense of accomplishment after meeting your plan, you’ll start to feel better about yourself and in turn, you’ll get more motivated. Keep setting goals and meet them, and before you know it, you won’t be half as stressed out as you were before you started working!
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Tip #3- Treat Yourself
I always feel my best and most ready to work when I’m clean, have a nice refreshing drink and snack, and open a spotify playlist, which increases focus. If you are trying to get something done, you need to be in the best headspace possible. So set up a comfy space, make some popcorn and put on some fresh, soft clothes because we may be here a while.
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Tip #4- Respect your teachers
Look, I know sometimes you may not be feeling the whole school thing, but have you ever stopped to consider that your teacher may not be feeling it either? Cut them some slack; they work hard to make sure you learn and they deserve your attention, so follow their rules and get your work done, because you may need them to write you a college recommendation letter one day. (;
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Tip #5- Just Relax
High school in the long run is really not that big of a deal. Of course you want to try your best to succeed in every way that you can, but don’t overextend yourself and cause more stress than you need to. It’s really not the end of the world if you wake up late and don’t have time to do your full beauty routine. Give yourself a lazy day or treat yourself to Starbucks after school; you work hard and deserve a break sometimes, so don’t forget that amidst all the craziness. Just take time to breathe and tell yourself you got this! I truly believe that you’ll only be as stressed out as you let yourself be, and if you follow these tips and get things done on time, I promise you’ll feel much better in the long run!
CATEGORIES
SENIOR STRUGGLES
October 31st, 2017
So, if you’re currently a senior like me, you’re most likely on the struggle bus like me: overwhelmed with applications. From colleges to scholarships to getting your FAFSA completed, there is a lot of pressure on us. So, let’s talk about this, and hopefully I can give you some good advice that you can keep in mind while you’re literally applying for your future.
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Keep an open mind
This is extremely important when it comes to deciding where you are going to go to school at. I was so against visiting half of the schools my mom wanted me to go to, but I went anyways and ended up loving some of them. Keep an open mind and apply to MANY colleges, not just that one favorite of yours, because if you don’t get accepted to your number one, or you can’t afford it, you need to have backup options.
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The sooner the better
This one. Listen to this. Get your applications for colleges in ASAP. Like yesterday. The earlier you apply, the better chance you have of getting in and getting scholarships. It’s proven. Somewhere. Just do it.
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Take your time
I know, you’re now like, Natalie, what the heck? You just told me to apply ASAP and now you’re telling me to take my time? What? No, listen, college applications and scholarship applications are important to get in right away, but it’s also important that you go over them like ten times to make sure everything is correct and spelled right and that you put everything on there about yourself that you want a possible school to see about you because once you hit submit, there’s no going back and changing it. Check and double check your applications and make sure you come off the way you want to be seen by a future college.
It’s not set in stone
I think this is by far the most important thing to remember, so if you take away anything from my little advice column this month, let it be this: none of this is final. You can change your mind and change it again. Apply to five colleges or fifty; it's all up to you. I don’t mean to sound cheesy- well, yes I do- but you can do whatever you set your mind to. You wanna try and go to Harvard? Apply. Literally the worst they can do is send you a letter saying no. But at least you tried. Therefore, apply to that reach school in the back of your mind. Maybe you’ll get in, and even if you can’t afford to go there, at least you can tell people you rejected an admission from that school and sound cool. Apply and apply and know that even if you don’t get into every school, it’s because it wasn’t meant to be. This whole college thing is only as scary as you make it, I promise. So, get out there, and get going!
DON'T STRESS ABOUT STRESS
November 30th, 2017
So here in Natalie’s Advice Corner, we keep it real. So I’m not going to lie to you when I say, I submitted this article three days late. Why? Because I’m stressed out, man. I have a lot of stuff to do, and not a lot of time, and I’m sure each and every one of you can relate to that in some way. And if you just mumbled “definitely” to yourself, this article is for you.
Stress is a natural part of life. But honestly, I have just been feeling it on me more and more as of late. Maybe it’s the dreaded “senioritis” or I’ve gotten lazier as I’ve gotten older; either way, everything in my life is so hard to get motivated for. And I know most of you can relate to that. Whatever you do, whether you play a sport, do band, art or write, or for me, three of the previous, it’s hard sometimes- or most of the time- to juggle it all with school and homework and all that good, fun stuff. But that’s being a teenager I guess. Anyways, everyone’s got something.
Right now, I’m writing this over Thanksgiving break, a holiday break, but I work every single day at a job that isn’t fun, and I have an incomprehensible amount of homework to do before school starts back up. When will I do that? Will I do that? I don’t know. I really am doubting my abilities to get all of this stuff I need to do done before it’s back to the inexorable cycle of sleep, eat, school, sleep, practice, work, sleep, repeat. Really. It all just feels like too much sometimes.
Unlike usual, I’m not going to give tips on reducing stress this edition. Why, you ask? Because I DON’T KNOW EITHER. Seriously. If anyone knows how to stop being stressed when you have school and college and a sport and a job all on your mind constantly plus friend drama and the inability to have a social life, let me know because how do we high schoolers even do this stuff?!
So this is an advice column, and I want to give good advice, but honestly, I’m still looking for it myself. So I think the moral of this article is that: dude, we are all in the same boat. The high school struggle bus. That is driving uncontrollably down a highway towards the rest of our lives. Whatever you do, good for you though, and I want to personally let you know that you’re doing a great job with whatever it is you do, and it’s OK to take some time off for your mental health. So, the next time you think that you’re stressed out, think: hey, so is probably everyone else, and Natalie told me in her advice corner that she’s proud of me, so therefore I’m going to be okay. And then, hopefully, maybe, you won’t feel quite so bad at the end of the day.
NEW YEAR, NEW ME
December 31st, 2017
We did it guys. We survived semester number one of this school year, and we survived 2017. And for me, the first semester of my senior year is now over. Wow. It’s hard to believe. But that’s not what this article is about.
This article is all about you! I don’t know you, and I don’t know how the first semester of classes went for you, but it’s a new semester and it’s a new year, so what I want to say to you all is make the most of it!
Some people think New Year's resolutions are stupid, but I disagree completely. A new year means another time for you to reinvent yourself and time for you to do what you wish you did last year but never got the courage to do. Pledge to eat healthier or study more and actually hold yourself to it! This new year I am going to go vegan; it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time for health and moral reasons, so this new year I’m gonna finally make that happen!
I think the idea of New Year's resolutions is beautiful and I encourage all of you to just do one thing that scares you this new year. Just one thing. Make one little change to your routine or talk to that cute person you’ve had your eye on that you’ve been too afraid to make a move on. Do something for yourself, something that makes you happy, because life is way too short, and another year of it has just gone by, so don’t wait to start fixing that broken friendship or tell someone how you really feel. Do it this next year.
It’s the most clichéd saying but I really think it’s good advice so— New Year, New You.