Essay About Surviving Middle School

Six Things You Should Know about Surviving Middle School by Izzy Szeto Many students claim that middle school is exceedingly straightforward and easy, whereas others claim that middle school is complex and difficult. For those who succeed in school and claim school is easy say that because they work diligently. It’s not because they are naturally talented. The students who say middle school is difficult and flounder in their studies say school is difficult because they don’t work assiduously and they don’t have perseverance. In fact, there are several kids at school who are talented fail their classes. This is because they don’t have grit and they are also often too lazy to do their work. In my own case, I am considered as one of the naturally talented people. Many of my peers think that I receive good grades because I am talented. However, I know this is not the case. In reality, I have been recieving good grades because I have been working diligently. Most homework assignments in middle school require hard work, critical thinking, and perseverance(which means no procrastinating). There are also many conundrums and
problems given in school that require deep, analytical thinking and dedication. The way many of the classes are graded are not based on how well you score a test, but how you participate in class and if you complete your homework. So why do I succeed? I do not succeed because I’m naturally talented; I succeeded because I work hard and I do not procrastinate. In this writing, I will share with you exactly what I did to be successful and hopefully you will take this into your heart. Start your middle school life smoothly and finish strong!
Have Grit. What is grit? Well, grit is having stamina… sticking with the problem and persevering until you solve the problem. Now how does grit help survive you middle school? Well, as I said earlier, most of the school projects are time consuming; they require critical thinking, time, and diligent work. Having grit helps you persevere through it, even though at times it may seem boring or too hard. Having grit is the first thing you must have in order to survive middle school.
Always stay organized. This is very integral. No kidding. I mean, grit is important, but if you can’t even find your papers and assignments that you need to use for your work/ project… then how do you expect to do it in the first place?! Being organized will save your life and time whether you believe it or not. I am telling this from EXPERIENCE. I remember for the first few months when I started middle school, I was very organized and it helped me accomplish my work faster. Unfortunately, after the first few months, I started to become lazy and just shoved the papers in my backpack. Soon I started losing stuff. After I lost my papers and all my materials… I would never ask my teachers for more papers… Ok, people… you know how hard it is to go up to the teacher and act all stupid and say… uhh. I lost my papers… can I have another copy. So to save you all that messy trouble, STAY ORGANIZED!!!
Study, study, study. I have learned the hard way that if you don’t study in middle school, you will struggle. Even if you're a gifted person who really never studies…. it is still wise to do so. I mean, sometimes there will be surprise tests and assessments that will just sneak up on you. While taking it, you realize that you really don’t know everything. There was this one week where I had a huge history test and my history teacher kept reminding us to study really hard because the test we were going to take was the most difficult test of the year. I didn’t pay attention to his warnings because I never studied for tests and I still aced them. So, the day of the test rolled around and while I was taking it I completely blanked out and I had no idea what was going on. When I received my grade for the test at the end, it was a failing grade and at that moment, I realized what I did wrong and I remembered that moment as a lesson of what never to do again. Now, I’m telling you, learn from my mistakes! Study everyday and don't wait until the last minutes or before the test. You study for the knowledge, not for the test. I swear it WILL save you in the end.
Hang out with the right group. Now I know that you’re all probably wondering what friends have to do with school. Having the right types of friends is very important. Hanging out with a group that always slacks off rubs off on you. If you have friends who constantly miss classes and never do their homework and only care for fun things, you will be pressured to stop doing your work and join them for fun. Slacking off with those bad friends will drive you away from your studies. Make sure you don’t hang out with a group of friends that you know will be a bad influence. BE WISE! Choose your friends wisely.
Go above and Beyond. You’re probably all wondering why I am telling you to do extra work. Well, sometimes you might earn a non- satisfactory grade on a test or assessment. The extra credit you earned from the extra work will help make up for that unsatisfactory grade. Do extra credit, always make your projects perfect, and make sure to always complete your work on time! Every little point counts in middle school. It can save your life if you're on the borderline to a bad grade.
Have fun!
After saying that you need to work super hard, many people draw the wrong conclusion that in order to succeed in school, you have to work every single second and there is no time to enjoy life. That is not the point of what I’m trying to say. I mean, yes. You do have to work hard. However, you still need to relax. Stressing out your brain too much over school is unhealthy. I know for a fact that it was scientifically proven that having too much stress can cause a person to become sick physically and/or mentally. Obviously, if you started to become sick frequently, you would miss school as a result and it will be hard for you to catch up in your classes! (Trust me, I have learned this the hard way as well.) So it’s also very important that you just relax at times and have fun. (Note: THIS DOES NOT MEAN PRIORITIZING FUN OVER YOUR
WORK!!!!) In the end, I hope these six guidelines to surviving middle school will help you a lot. Surviving middle school is really not that hard if you put your heart into it and follow these guidelines. I can guarantee if you work your hardest, you will not only survive middle school, but you will also be able to pass with straight A’s. Don’t forget that no matter what happens, you must persevere. I wish you best of luck in starting middle school!