Hello there darlings, if you read my last journal...I didn't drop kick the person, I actually let it go fairly quickly. I'm the type of person who (in a scary way) can be super pissed off for an hour and then let it go.

Now, I noticed a lot of my followers are actually pretty young, which I'm totally cool with because most of you aren't the immature types (THANK GOD). But, since I'm sure a lot of you are probably terrified of HS (at first I was, but ironically I knew from the start it was going to be one hell of a shit show.). But since I already have a "How To Survive Freshman Year" journal, I'm going from Sophomore year on (I'm only a junior, so the senior segment is going to be based off what my senior friends are currently experiencing.)

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                                                            ~Sophomore Year~

If your school offers it this early, TAKE THE PSAT.

Honestly, the PSAT left my brain beyond fried, and we didn't do all of the sections either due to time restrictions (We did 4/5 sections, the last section being an essay). It'll give you a pretty good baseline at where you're currently at, what you're strong in, and what areas you're weak in. Honestly, don't sweat it too much either. Remember, it's a practice exam, and they usually offer the PSAT multiple times a year, so if you fucked up one, take another one, so when the real SAT happens, you have a better chance of doing pretty good.

As irritating as it is to think about, start thinking about college.

I know exactly what most of you are thinking rn. "ALYSSA, I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT I'M GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE WHAT SO EVER."

Listen, if you really don't know what you want to do, go for liberal arts. Because with that, if you get a degree, and then you happen to get an idea of what you want to do, liberal arts degrees are extremely flexible. Now I'm not saying make your full-on choices from now (idc what your parents say, don't wait until the last minute, but DO NOT let them pressure you into college choices that you won't be happy with. You're the one going to the college to get an education that will benefit YOU.)

Work on your study habits. You'll need them more than you think you will.

If you already have really good studying habits, good, because it'll make your junior year SO MUCH EASIER. When they say junior year is the hardest year, I can tell you from experience, I don't think I've cried so much in 3 hours over a fucking back to back midterm. But, for others, junior year wasn't that hard. If you really start working on good work habits and getting involved with the school, believe me, it will make it a lot easier than you think.

                                                                       ~Junior Year~

        Remember when I said to sleep while you can as a freshman? Yeah, this is why.

Guys, I kid you not, unless you have really simple classes, you're lucky if you get 5 hours of sleep. Let's break this down.

Let's say school ends at 2:50 for you, and school starts at 7:50-8:00. And I know a lot of people do sports/clubs. For clubs, let's add an hour to that, for sports, let's add 2-4. (I say four because some sports tend to do extra practices.). So depending on that, it's already 3:50-7:50.

Now let's add work to that, so scratch sports if this applies to you unless you sports and work. If you do, I have full respect for you. I know in the US, students who are currently in school can only work part-time, so let's add four hours to that.

If you're going straight to work after a club or practice (2 hours), it's either 7:50, or 9:50 for you.

Unless you do this in school (WHICH I HIIIIIIIIIIIGHLY RECOMMEND, IT SAVES TIME AND STRESS), add homework which if you have AP classes, can range from 1-3 hours. Sometimes more. But even some regular classes, teachers act as if you don't have a life, so they'll stick up the middle finger and give you more shitloads of things you'll never use in life.

So if it's 7:50, add three hours, it's 10:50. If it's 9:50, it's 12:50 in the morning. Add a skincare routine, add maybe an extra 15-20 minutes. Hair care, especially for my naturalists, you know damn well it all depends if your hair wants to cooperate or not. I can't even put a time range for that because hair runs on its own schedule.

In simple terms, IT'S LATE AS FUCK.

                                                     College: Part 2 of course.

I know EVERYONE is going to be doing the "wHeRe ArE yOu ThInKiNg AbOuT gOiNg To CoLlEgE????" shit, and honestly, it's okay if you don't know.

Remember, you have so much other shit to worry about, however, DO NOT PUT IT OFF TO THE LAST MINUTE. If your school has a college fair, or your community has a college fair, GO TO IT. It may give you a pretty good idea of where you want to possibly go, even if it's close by.

ALSO, DO NOT LET YOUR PARENTS/FAMILY PRESSURE YOU INTO A COLLEGE YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT INTERESTED IN.

Experiencing this first hand (still am tbh), it's your choice, in the end, you're going to be the one attending it, it really doesn't matter what your family feels is best. If the college offers more than what the college they feel is best, you don't have to suck up to them and go somewhere you aren't happy.

Hearing about college 24/7 is annoying as is, so somewhere that you know will offer you enough and will make you happy. Trust me, you'll stress a lot less when you know where you want to go when you visit. Trust me, I understand how annoying it is.

                                   Friends? Lmao? Fuck are those? Isn't that a TV show?

To be honest, the people who say that they'll be there no matter what, are the same people 1 day to two years later you'd wish would fall down a well and break every single bone in their body.

You're going to lose friends, each year believe it or not. But this year is the real test to see who's really with you and who's really with you to get something out of you, because considering you won't have time for bullshit, the people you call your "brothers and sisters" lowkey may be jealous and will try to fuck your whole life up.

Think of them like split ends, the longer you keep them, the more damage it will do right? So cut that bitch off.

Or think of them as a calculator. You put the wrong numbers in, you'll get the wrong answer, right? So do the process of elimination and GET IT TOGETHER.

                                                                    ~Senior Year~

                                          It's not as peachy as they make it seem.

There's no cream. It's not sweet. You won't have a statute that has chocolate cheeks or wings.

It's actually kinda shitty, don't get me wrong, it's not as stressful, but if you're going to college, acceptances can be absolutely nerve-wracking. That, and you have to worry about the real SAT, which a lot of people actually say it was a lot easier than the PSAT. Honestly, my brain was beyond fried after the PSAT, the English portion wasn't too hard for me, but math...

lmao 1+1=11 idgaf

                                                     Make it memorable AF

Honestly, as stressful as it may be with college acceptances and all, DON'T MAKE IT TOO TERRIBLE. You're maybe 10 months from getting out of this prison we call HS, so don't forget to make some memories. But don't be stupid, you don't want to go to jail, or get in legal trouble because that can easily hinder if you'll actually walk across the stage to get a blank piece of paper, and then receive your diploma later on when you go to the guidance office. Either way, make memories but don't do anything you'll regret later on.

To my girls: Pregnancy is no joke. If you're gonna smash, first off, make sure you're of legal age. Because listen, if you're 17 and that dude is 28...HONESTLY DON'T EVEN DO IT WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING BUSTING IT WIDE OPEN WITH AN ALMOST 30 YEAR DUDE.

But in all seriousness, protection. Not even kidding, consent and protection. Don't fuck up your future because he didn't wanna pull out sis. Even if you sneak some PLAN B as an emergency back-up, do it.

To my guys: For fuck's sake, I don't give a shit if you claim your pull out game is godly. Pre-cum still has traces of sperm inside. Use a condom, and also...don't be trying to hook up with innocent girls who aren't educated at all. You both have to be educated on the potential consequences of what could happen, so suck it up, put on the condom even if she says she's on the pill, and be safe than sorry.

                              IT'S NOT OVER DARLING, DON'T START SLACKING OFF

I know what you're all thinking. "IT'S OVER FUCK SCHOOL FUCK THESE PEOPLE FUCK EVERYTHING I3QRNEGI3WESNEFGOERB"

Well, guess what colleges are starting to do? MID YEAR REPORTS.

Meaning, if you decide to screw around, your school will send a mid-year report of your shitty grades, and if the college sees you're going full on fuck it with your grades, if you're waitlisted, this can easily push you into the no bin.

And if your acceptance is guaranteed, this can push you to the waitlist very easily, which I'm sure you don't want. And even after the mid-year report is sent out, baby don't fuck up your grades anyway. You'll regret it, your high school grades follow you everywhere.

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This actually took forever to do, my fingers legit hurt. But hopefully this will help some of ya'll. CHAPTER 8 (?) IS COMING SOON, GIVE ME TIME

~🌸Ally🌸~