About starting highschool and my conditions..

[The Joker]

(Please do move this topic to the accurate section if this topic does not belong here. I am very sorry.)

 

Hello.. Just to quickly introduce myself, I am obviously a new member. I am a 15 year-old female who will be starting her first year of high-school on August 19th. Seemingly, I am probably one of the youngest members here, seeing how many members are in their 20's and 30's.. Ahahah.

 

As I said, I am about to enter high-school, and am a little nervous about it.

 

Despite the fact I am one of the more intelligent students among my peers, I just barely made it out of 8th grade. I received a few F's and one or two D's on my entire report card. The reason for my low grades is that I have a very hard time getting my homework done.

 

I just do not feel motivated at all to do any of my work. I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism at age 8, and have been diagnosed with depression about a year ago, so I think those might be the underlying causes of my not doing my work (my under-active thyroid leaves me with little energy as it is, and the depression just makes it even worse by taking away my motivation and will to do anything). I am on summer break right now and thereforee am not as depressed; but while in school, I get depressed very easily and I become very fatigued. I come home with weary eyes, a headache, am in a very grouchy mood regardless how good my day might have been, and all I want to do is relax. Once I come home and do the things I enjoy doing, I can't seem to want to start on my work.

 

Do you guys have any advice as to what I could do? I really need to start doing my work, because I am going to get a lot of it in high-school. How can I get myself motivated to start on my work? And do you really think it is a good idea if I worked away from the computer? The computer seems to be a very big distraction for me. . . Just so you know, it'd be idealistic if I could come home to relax first and then do my work. I look forward to doing the things I like to when I return home, as they help me relax and get my headaches under control..

 

Thank you so much in advance. I'd really appreciate the help.

[MorningBell]

Every time I sit down to do homework I'm exhausted and apathetic. But I start. And I finish. I've had times I've stayed up till 3, 4 in the morning doing a paper and I wanted to gouge my * * * * ing eyes out with a rusty screwdriver...but I started. And I finished. You're not going to want to do it. You're never going to want to do. You'll never make yourself want to do. But you'll do it.

 

Or you can pick up trash for less money than the rest of us spend on toilet paper. School isn't exactly something you do because it's moral or because God says you should. No, * * * * that. You do it because your life is over if you don't. Survival instinct. If that doesn't kick in and take over at some point, then you are truly helpless and no kind words will fix you.

[ferretman22]

Welcome to ENA. I'm also in high school, there aren't a lot of us on here. Haha. Im a 16 year-old junior now, and I also suffered from depression in my freshman year. Unfortunately, I didn't get very good grades, the computer and my music were the biggest distraction. Fast forward to my sophomore year, and my family had a new rule. My parents are a little intrusive, and they cut off power to my room and took my phone/ipod until my homework was done. It worked in my case, even if it did take a little outside help. I think the best thing you can do to make sure you get your homework done is to set aside a certain amount of time each day to do it and stick to it. It actually made me feel a lot better to be getting good grades, and it even helped my depression by relieving one of the main stressors in my teenage life. Good luck!

[The Joker]

Thanks a whole lot, both of you. I ought to force myself to do the homework, even if I don't like it, and get myself away from distractions. D:

 

Any more advice would be greatly appreciated.

[username1607307862]

hey, i can totally sympathise with your problem. ive suffered from depression for the last five years and self motivation was so hard boardering impossible. however i made it through, and ended up doing pretty well.

 

The key is you have to think about your distractions, tv will always be there and so will the computer. they are not worth messing up your future over. And lets face it education is the only way forward.

 

i recommend you come home, watch one tv programme - so relax and eat for a half an hour, an hour max and then get down to it. take only ten minute breaks when you need and try get it all over with to do the things you enjoy.

 

I think you will be okay, just put your best foot forward, we have an irish sayin that says tus maith leath na hoibre - which means a good start means half the work.

 

Best of Luck, and try to enjoy these years xox

[Konyak]

Well, I'm in high school also and I had the problem of not getting motivated doing my work in my sophomore year(last year). But my problem was a little different. I was tired of school. Like, I mean it's not like I didn't want to learn or anything like that it was just the fact that I was tired of it. I felt like I wasn't accomplishing anything. Well, I never had an answer to the problem. So I barely passed the 10th grade. I think what you should do is in your free time at school, do most of the homework you would have later that night and finish it at home. That way you feel like you have less weight and you could totally finish it easily. And STAY away from the computer unless your doing a project that requires it. I'm not sure about in school though if your having problems doing the work there. Like I said before, I never really got an answer to that.

[The Joker]

username?: Thank you so, so much. This is great advice. The computer is totally not worth bad grades. It's these ways of thinking that motivate me. Thank you.

 

Konyak: Thank you! C:

And yes, I know how you feel, about how you feel like you aren't accomplishing anything. I feel like that a lot as well. So I can understand you there.

[morgane]

ahahha Darling i just got out of highschool, i'm 17 and let me tell you highschool was not that bad, it's soooo easy, i mean i'm not really the very intelligent student but i always do my homework and study so i do better in school than the students who are smarter than me but they don't do any work. Just tell yourself this: "if i try hard at school, i will gain later success in life" it pays off well, and colleges look at your grades from highschool alot, really you will pay consequences if you don't try in school or in life even. So for me : 9nth grade was kind of ok, 10th grade, the easiest year, 11th grade hardest year, 12th grade, easy but the first semester is intense because you want to do the best since colleges will focus on your first semester of the senior year alot. Also i guess it all depends on what classes you are taking. If you take alot of honor/Ap college course classes, it will be much tougher to survive through out highschool, try to maintain your GpA above a 3.0, my Gpa was 3.9 but i didnt take that many ap classes so it made sense. College actually values it more if you have a 3.5 but alot of challenging classes than easy one with a high gpa, but my colleges didn't really care because my major is fashion design.

[LittleInuit]

Haha, don't worry about feeling young. I am 17 so I'm close to your age. When I was a freshman *Ill be a senior this year.* It was a totally different atmosphere. I was scared to death. First off I went to a small private school and only had twelve people in my class. The high school I was about to attend had over 1200 students and it was a magnet school for smart people. I was not the smartest person in my schoolm and Plus, I had no friends there, and I knew nobody. I made a couple friends, who have now turned into the best people I could ever have met. You just gotta put your best foot forward and do your best.

 

As for doing homework, I am very lazy. I get TONs of homework. What I do is after I come home I eat a snack and either get on the computer, take a nap, or watch tv for an hour. Then, after my hour is up, I tackle my homework AWAY from any distractions. Now, I'm not much of a tv person, but I get addicted to the internet. So, if you get distracted like that, just put yourself out of the situation. And to get better grades, set a goal for yourself and if you make it give yourself a reward. I hope I helped...

[Infin1ty]

I can tell you from my own personal experience, that this is not a routine that you want to get into once in High School. I used to have the same problem, I was great in school, but I rarely did/did not turn in my homework. I almost failed my 9th grade year because of this, and I highly regret it. I probably could have graduation High School with a 3.5+ GPA, but because of my shenanigans in 9th grade, I ended up getting a 2.9.

[paintedfish]

I'm sorry to hear you're sick...

 

My brother has hypothyroidism, ADD, and depression, and it drove him to an addiction to painkillers that ruined 6 years of his life. It's hard, and the people around you don't have to work as hard for the same goals, and that's got to be frustrating.

 

But my brother's 22, dropped out of college, doesn't work, lives at home, etc. He wasn't able to put in the work it takes, and he's one of the smartest people I've ever met. You seem to be very well spoken, and it's good that you recognize that you're not acting up to your potential, and you're looking to people with more experience to help. I've found the best way to motivate myself isn't grades or comparing myself to other people... it's finding something to look forward to that's purely for my own enjoyment and well being, not getting good grades so someone will be proud.

 

Try to focus on making your grades count because you want to continue to be smart, and well educated and interesting to talk to. Think about what college you might want to go to, and how much fun high school and college will be. Focus on keeping yourself as healthy as you can so your uncontrollable problems feel like less of a burden. Eat right, sleep right, keep social and active. There's negatives anywhere you look in life, so make sure you focus on the future and all it's good possibilities, and how, being 15, you don't want to close a single door to that future by dinking around on the computer instead of doing algebra. High school is tough, college is tougher, and real life is brutal if you make it. So don't make it, stay positive and always keep enthusiasm for yourself in the future.

 

Take care!

[ur02111222]

Well I think learning to study takes work itself.

 

Other users have given great advice already. But basically, I would tell you that if you are intelligent to start with, high school is extremely easy if you just do the work. Show up to class, pay attention, take notes-this takes care of a lot of problems because you retain more information and have to study less outside of class. Do something to wind down when you get home (go on a walk, take a nap, read a book, etc), then sit down and start your work. Don't work in front of the tv or listening to music. Find a quiet place with a table to work at because it's more comfortable. Some days you may want to tackle your hardest assignment first, but just pace yourself. If you have a long assignment, break it up into pieces and do other work in between. Take breaks as well like 15 minutes every hour or 5-10 every half hour. Learn good study habits as well.

 

Aim to be an A student if you know you are capable. Think of college (4 years from now). For me, thinking ahead by years helps me stick to my long-term education goals. Right now I am just entering college, but I'm already thinking about graduate school four years from now. Set short term and long term goals.

 

Also, one thing that makes highschool easier is to do your best 1st and 3d quarter, so at the end of the semesters, you aren't behind. You have a little wiggle room to be lazy if you get great grades the first quarter. And even with the wiggle room, after earning As, you will be motivated to not see them drop. If you start off with good grades, it's easier to keep them. Pulling them up is sooooo hard.

 

Take advantage of any extra credit. Always do the extra credit, even if you don't need it at the time. But it comes in hand later on if your grades drop.

 

School is harder when depressed. I have been suffering from manic-depression for the past 2 years and school got very difficult, but maintaining grades is still possible, sometimes it just takes a few hours longer.

 

And one last random thing. Finding something like drama or art or choir or sports can make school more fun. Sure, you have more out of school work to do (like rehearsals and practice), but it's good for making people well-rounded, if they can keep up with the work load.

 

GOOD LUCK!