If you take a relaxing stroll or drive through basically any town in the United States, you are most likely going to come to a place where memories lie. Good, bad, enjoyable, unbearable, and whatever other feelings it brings. As you might have already guessed(not by the title obviously) it is High School.

Yes, high school can appear to be one of the most ghastly and dreadful places you have encountered in your life (I’m not exaggerating AT ALL), but I highly encourage all incoming freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and even seniors to try something crazy:

Try to laugh.

You may be thinking: “Thank you Captain Obvious for this downright useless information”. Hear me out. The effect laughing and enjoying your time in high school can have is overwhelming. If you want to hear more pointers about how to survive high school, continue reading. I mean, who doesn’t need some new advice sometime in their life?

Sleep. Sleep for goodness sakes! You will never regret something in high school as much as not getting enough rest. I’m a freshman and I've already made that mistake… I understand.

If you forget your homework assignment, it’s not the end of the world. Simply do the assignment at home so you understand the concept.

Relax.

Ask for help with your mistakes because not everything can be done on your own no matter how independent you want to be.

Learn.

Stay away from drama. It is not at all worth it, nor will it ever be worth it to argue with your peers.

Don’t spend hours crying about your failures and setbacks. Embrace them to create change and advancement.

Cut up your little blue and red striped notecards. Trust me, it saves space AND paper. Kill two birds with one stone!

Listen.

Don’t spend all of your high school days believing that your conceptions and ideas are correct and that you are more intellectually advanced than all of your bright-eyed peers. The people who are most successful in life are usually the most humble. So do us all a favor.

Join clubs or other after schools activities and become engaged within the community. I made the mistake of not joining any clubs and I wish I could go back in time and join some. You meet amazing people and have experiences you might never have on your own.

Don’t base your decisions on what someone else says. Your future is different than the person sitting next to you, so don’t do something or select a class based on the popularity of what others are choosing. If the class you really want to take is considered “uncool”, take it anyways. Who is going to remember 50 years from now that you took a class no one else wanted? Probably no one.

Read. Even when you don’t have to, even when you don’t want to.

Enjoy and cherish the special memories you make with friends. Once you graduate, you might never see them again so spend your time wisely.

Two words: Time Management. You will thank me later.

Start looking for colleges and career options NOW. I know I am only a freshman but if you wait too long, it will add an enormous amount of unneeded stress and anxiety.

Go to school dances. It is just another chance to have fun and meet new people

Stay optimistic. Keeping a positive outlook on life will prevent you from being too hard on yourself and can relieve stress.

Honesty IS the best policy.

Remember that phrase “fries before guys”? It is 110% true. Worry about yourself and your happiness before trying to get into relationships because it is “what everyone else is doing”. If someone jumped off a bridge would you? No.

High school can be strenuous and unpleasant but you just need to remember to laugh. Take time for yourself and enjoy the insane but worthwhile ride that is high school.