I’m sure that those of you who completed middle school are now breathing heavy sighs of relief. To be quite honest, I don’t blame you because middle school can be really difficult especially since elementary school didn’t really push you the way that middle school did. I'm sure that many of your eighth grade teachers told you that high school is much harder than middle school was, and sadly, there are times when high school can push you harder and raise the bar of expectations, particularly as you advance into higher grades. However, if you follow these three steps, then you should be able to navigate your way through high school a lot easily and find yourself attaining a lot more success and excellence.

You should study hard and put forth your best effort. While this may seem like a real no-brainer, you’d be surprised about how many students in high school decide to not care and become lazy. Yes, the work may be painful, difficult and overwhelming at times, but rather than let your stress and anxiety consume you, just buckle down and complete the tasks assigned to you. Chances are very high that you will begin to feel a sense of relief and confidence. Why? Well, when you tackle an assignment that makes you think by gritting your teeth and plowing through it, you have just demonstrated that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to and that you are prepared to face the most daunting hardships in life. After all, giving anything a try and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, whether it's by attempting an advanced math problem or befriending a foreign exchange student from an exotic country and culture, is how you learn and develop, even if you encounter some failures along the way for that unfortunately is a part of life.

It’s also very important that you understand that no question is stupid to a teacher because if nothing confused you, then that would defeat the whole purpose of both having school and having teachers for that matter. So if you’re really stumped on something, then ask for help. As long as you show that you are truly trying to figure it out for yourself, then a teacher will have no problem offering assistance.

Now, I know that the academic part of high school can be a drag and a nuisance, which is why you can help make the high school experience better by branching out and making some new friends or strengthening the already established bonds with the friendships that you’ve already made.

So how should you build new friendships to begin with? Well, the best way is during lunch. Look to see if there is anyone seated alone and when the time is right, go over there, introduce yourself and make conversation. If the chemistry is organic and genuine, then that means that your friendship is most likely destined to last for a very long time if you continue to commit to the person involved in the relationship and stay loyal through the tough times and good times. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find a study partner that you can use to work on assignments together and make the time go by faster. And of course, this can make the boring tasks become at least bearable. There’s nothing worse than going through any academic year without much support, which is why you need to befriend as many people as you can so that you can enjoy yourself when you’re not busy studying for tests or writing papers. Finally, there is one thing that all jobs in the professional world look for when hiring new employees and that is the activities and hobbies that you took part in during high school.

Getting involved is the easiest way to prevent so much time gone to waste as a result of you being bored and having nothing to do. Look for a club that perhaps is not so intense since this might spill into the time that you set aside to complete homework because school work does come first. Some examples of these types of clubs are a literary magazine or art club, which brings its own baggage of benefits, especially if you are considering a career in any of these two fields. And if you’d also like to find an activity that gets you out of the house at night, then maybe find something that is not related to the school such as martial arts or maybe even get a part time job so that you can begin financially supporting yourself which becomes more important during your last two years of high school.

Should you choose to follow these three tips, you will become amazed with the drive for attainment and excellence you will gain, as well as the reduced levels of stress. Again, you do not have to follow these pieces of advice if you choose not to, but I will say that I would encourage you to at least follow some of what I suggested for it will make your high school experience that much more bearable and easier.