I was sitting on the bus this morning, headed off to school. I was fairly exhausted, having had a long night full of lots of homework the night before. The air was thick and humid, typical of a spring day, but not at all pleasant. As we sped down the road, I thought to myself this: What makes a good student?

The answer is not a straightforward one. I do, however, see myself as a good student. I take all Honors or AP classes (with the exception of Algebra, which is only on-level because I was scared of the workload being in accelerated might entail).

These are the mindsets I keep to persevere and be successful in school.

Mind the standards of your parents, but don't be afraid to push yourself. This one resonates within me more than anything I can tell you. My parents are very present in my school life, and as a result, they expect me to do well. The saying "I am my own worst enemy" applies well here, though. I have standards for myself that are higher than those of my parents and higher than those of even my most demanding teachers. That has done me well, but it puts me under quite a bit of stress as a result. You should know your limits and push the boundaries of what you know you can do.

Don't stress yourself out over little things. It's funny that I'm putting this in here because I'm actually the queen of stress. I get upset if my performance is less than perfect, and that's good in some cases, but it can be bad as well. In my opinion, it's better to stress out about the bigger, more important things and take the minor things as they come. If you do perform in a less than ideal manner, focus on fixing your mistakes to improve your grade, and move on.

Trust your teachers. The truth of the matter is, if you don't trust what your teachers are teaching you or the manner in which they approach teaching you that concept, you won't be successful. If you're skeptical about your understanding of something, ask about it. Get clarification. Work on it until you do understand it. Chances are very high that your teacher knows what they're doing, and they're going to be your best resource for your success.

Don't get distracted by people who don't care about their peers' learning. I'm a frequent flyer in this area. I often find myself to be more focused than many of my peers, and I've found that it's easier to ignore them than to try to reason with them. You are in charge of your own learning, not them. Find your focus, find a reason to be dedicated and a reason to persevere.

Don't be afraid of the workload. Chances are, if you're in a place where you feel confident enough to take any Honors or AP classes at all, the workload associated with each of those classes most likely won't cause problems. I've had this dilemma before, where I couldn't decide whether to take on-level Algebra I or Accelerated Algebra II/Geometry A. Now, I realize I should've taken the higher math because I'm not challenged enough in the on-level math. That's not to say that I don't love my math class, because I do. My teacher is amazing. From an academic standpoint, though, I definitely think I could have done the accelerated math and been successful. My main point here is not to be afraid of the workload, and push yourself as far as you see fit based on what you know you can do and what you know you can't.

Finally, find time to do things beyond school. This is so important to not only your success, but to your well-being. If you're too focused on school, the stress builds up until the quality of your work starts to suffer. So, pursue a hobby. Pursue a sport. Find something you love to do, and work to alleviate that stress. For me, the alleviation came in playing guitar and singing, but it really depends on your values and interests. Find the balance between school and extracurriculars, the happy medium.

Whether this advice will help you, I don't know. Make of it what you must, but it helps me to keep these things in mind as I take on the journey that is high school. You are in charge of your learning. Whether you embrace it? That's up to you.