Dead Week!!

           Hey everyone! Yes, I know, I'm late. I apologize but I did tell you to expect that. This week was dead week, I had no idea what that was at the beginning of Monday but the meaning definitely made sense by Wednesday. In high school, at the end of the semester and sometimes the quarter (bare with me, I may have forgotten) you have a little experience known as finals! Well, dead week is the week before finals, the week where everyone is studying to the point of exhaustion and rushing to get things done. The week where everyone is freaking out and stressing over their grades to the point of being emotionally and mentally dead. Sounds like fun, right? Wrong! There's basically only one way to survive dead week...it's pretty crazy so just hear me out. It's a little weird and a lot of high school students may not be familiar with the concept so here goes...STUDY!
          I know, it's pretty crazy but it's really helpful, no but seriously, study you guys. Do your homework when it' assigned and try to work ahead if you can and study repeatedly. Studying does not have to be intense reading and highlighting, it could be just going over notes or practicing with flash cards. Also, learning how to be a multitask is a very valuable skill that will do you well in life, not just school.
          Also, this may seem kind of obvious, but show up to class. Your attendance is crucial people! In college, it's great that you get to pick your classes and what time you go to them, so since you picked the times you can go, tell me why you decide not to go? If you think you can still maintain a decent grade on tests and homework without attending class, that's on you. But remember, you're paying for these classes and you signed up for the specific time, you have to be responsible for yourself, your parents are not there to wake you up. Go to class! College is not a place to just party all the time, that can be done without a $23,000 bill at the end of the year, don't you think? It's you life and your decision, but make one you're not going to regret further down the line.
       So, you want to survive dead week? Well, go to class, study, and do your homework and try to work ahead and you might be one of the only un-dead beings in your campus!

Stick To the Status Quo!

             Alright, where are my peeps who actually know where this song is from? If you know, points for you, if you don't, relax it's not your generation. Ironic because naturally, I would never advise you to stay in your comfort zone, in order to grow you have to test your limits. So, what's the point of the status quo if you're just going to leave it anyway? Well, I see it more as a safe space to come back to after testing your limits to the best of your abilities. It's getting back to that one thing you may have forgotten that you love so much. Okay, I'll admit, I'm kind of a nerd: my safe space is Microsoft Publisher in the world of formatting. After three years working on the best school magazine ever (cough cough Getchell Charge) formatting became an extension of myself in a way. Dedicating so many hours to that program formatting my articles and the articles of others, it became the best way to show my creativity. Being away from something that I love for so long, I forgot how sucked in I could get. One of my classes asked us to work in a group to make a poster on a resource at school. My group chose International Study, I did my part of publisher. I thought to challenge myself with a blank page instead of a template, just to see if I still had my "editor's touch." I'm relieved to say it never left and I can pull it back up to the front of my mind whenever it's needed. I honestly can't explain how much I love being in my zone doing something familiar that I love.
             That being said, the lesson here is simple: Remember who you are and who you want to be. In high school, you plan out what you want to do once you graduate, you plan out what kind of person you want to be, but you may forget about the person you are now. Don't!! College is a place to reinvent yourself, that much is true, but don't forget the person you were. That person made you who you are and helped you prepare for the future you are going to embark on. Change is good but always remember what took place before. You can learn a lot from your past and the wisdom of others, don't take those things for granted. Remember the simple things that you  used to get so much joy and pleasure from; you don't have to grow out of everything! Try new things, change up your image if you want to, but always remember where you came from. It's okay to break free, to soar and fly, because there's not a star in heaven that you cant reach. But it's also good to go back to the status quo every once in a while.

Catch the Feels...Don't Post Them.

            Hello people! Okay, so my question for the week: How do you be a better version of yourself? It's very difficult to answer; let's take this from the top. A lot of you will see that the title of my blog is called "Glowed Up!" and some of you may not know what that means. As some may have guessed, it is a combination between "grow" and "glow." It means to mature and come into being the you that you want to be. I am still trying to come into that person myself and this blog is part of that process, hence "glowed up." Now, in college there are a lot of people trying to find themselves and learn who they are and who they want to be. The first step to that is balance. You must find a way to balance work and play if you don't, it could lead to repercussions.
            College is where you can reinvent yourself and become someone new or continue to work on who you were. Embrace this opportunity! Find things you like to do, explore and get to know your campus, meet new people. Especially, meet new people! Doing great in college and having good job experience is great, but the way to go the furthest is to know people that will vouch for you and ultimately, believe in you enough to give you a shot. So, be innovative and come up with ways to set yourself a part and be different. Also...be careful what you attach to your name. Facebook, Twitter,Tumblr, Instagram, whatever it is, think before you post on it! Your name is attached to it, employers, teachers, peers, will look at it and see if they can get a read on your character based on the things you post. I know we use these things to vent our feelings, but just play it safe and go old school and keep a journal and if you actually need to talk to someone, tell someone you trust who will respond to you, not 50 people who will just "like" your status.
             My next point, allow yourself to feel. This was something that I struggled with for a very long time. When you move away from home, it is a happy time, but it can also be sad because your leaving friends and family behind. Allow yourself to feel that pain otherwise it's just going to build and build until it's forced out of you. It's all a part of growing up; it's a learning experience. Finding people who will talk with you or just listen to you will help make the transition easier. It's okay to be homesick, but never bottle up your emotions.
             Glowing up is definitely a process but it's not one that you have to take on alone. Sometimes you just need to ask for help...and you know what? That's okay.

Are You Ready?

            College, college, college!!! How many of you are excited for college? (Don't raise your hand, I can't see it anyway.) Okay, you probably have loads of questions and if you don't, you're either really prepared or not prepared enough. Now, I'm not going to tell you that college is the greatest thing ever, and I'm not going to tell you that you're going to have loads of fun in college. Do you know why? It's because college is entirely what you, the individual, make of it. It also depends on where you choose to go, but that's for another time. This blog is not just for seniors in high school, it's for everyone who even feels like college might be the right path for them. However, I will specifically be making references to and probably talking to more students that go to the International School of Communications on the Marysville Getchell Campus. Yes, it's because I went there. A question that you hear a lot is "Did high school prepare you for college?" My answer: ISC, specifically, made me ready for university. The staff at ISC is more like family than anything, but they can only be that if you let them. Shocker! Seriously though, one thing that was always funny to me in high school was that students would blame the teacher for every little thing. This one time, a girl in my Spanish class was complaining that she got a lower grade than her friend did, she said that couldn't be right because she copied off her friend the whole time, so how could she possible get a lower grade?! (If you guys are paying attention in your LA1 class, you're picking up my tone right now.)
           You see what I'm getting at here? Your teacher is not responsible for your learning! You are! Because you are in high school, you have access to your teachers for 6 hours a day, as well as phone numbers and emails. If you don't understand something, ask questions! Another thing...if you have to print something out for an assignment, practice not depending on your teacher for that. It's not a realistic depiction of college at all. Go to the library, ask friends, but if you absolutely have to ask your teacher...send an email with a link ahead of time and get it printed before class even starts. Do Not Keep Up Class Time With Printing! And I'll just toss it out there, do your homework and turn it in on time. I never realized how nice it was of the teachers to actually tell us when something is due and keep reminding us up until the day before. Your teachers in college will NOT do that. You will have a student account where you will go to figure out what assignment is due when and you are expected to get it done. If you don't, sucks for you. Every teacher in high school that accepts late work...they are gems and they deserve a hug, because again, it will rarely, if ever, happen in college.
            Your high school education is important and your teachers are a resource, and hopefully at least once a week, I will be too. I'll answer any questions I can that are left in the comments on the blogs but if I can't, be self-reliant and do some research. Your teachers are there to guide you, not carry you. College can be great but only if you know how to handle it and to start preparing, and if you pick the one that fits you best, so choose wisely.