Today I am reflecting a little bit back on my time in high school and sharing 5 mistakes that I made that I wish I could go back and change! Then I am sharing how I am planning on correcting them in college. If any of you are going into high school or are still there, I recommend reading through these and checking to see if you have any of the same problems. If you do, it isn’t too late to correct most of them!
Problem: Not taking my first semester/year seriously. The first year really determines your GPA and if you do bad then it is hard to get it back up. I didn’t do bad, but I could have worked a little harder and started out better.
Solution: I am going to go into my first semester of college motivated and ready to work hard and get the best grades I can. It won’t always be easy and it might include me studying a bit more, but I know by junior and senior year I will be very very glad I worked hard in the beginning.
Problem: Saying no to a lot of things: In high school sometimes I would say no to going to an event or joining a sport/club. Saying no is definitely necessary sometimes, but that also means I did miss out on some things!
Solution: I am going to be willing to say yes to opportunities that come my way. College is a great time to meet new people, but if I say no to going somewhere I might not meet someone! Being involved in a club or activity is also a great way to meet new people, so I am planning on saying yes to some of those things as well.
Problem: Not reading very many books. Reading is a hobby of mine that I really do enjoy doing in my free time. During high school I pushed it away during most of the school years and instead just watched TV or movies. You can learn so much from reading and there is nothing like getting lost in a good book!
Solution: I will be requesting books from the library on my Kindle. Whenever a book I have wanted to read and I have been waiting for comes in, it makes me want to read it ASAP! This means that while I am at college I will still have a book available every week or two so I will be more motivated to read.
Problem: Procrastinating. Everyone does it to some extent, but when I was an underclassman in high school I did it a ton. Then second semester of my sophomore year I was taking an online health class and I realized how much less stressed I was when I finished everything before the deadlines. Some classes you can even get extra credit in if you turn a paper in or say a speech early!
Solution: To-do lists. If I write down that I have a paper to write on my to do list, you better believe I am going to work hard to get it done when I have time so I can cross it off. If I don’t finish it, it gets moved to the next day’s to-do list and I get very tired of writing “write Spanish paper” down every day for a week.
Problem: Not being organized enough. Again, this was more of during my first few years and by the end I got a good system. I know college will be very different though so I will need to find a system that works for me quickly.
Solution: I am going to begin with a similar system that I used in high school to organize handouts/papers. And of course I will be buying a new planner to use to keep all my tasks and events organized!
Did you make any of the same mistakes? Share in the comments!
xo, Scarlett
