Archive for May 2015
Tips For High School New Immigrants
I’ve been writing advice articles for years, but every now and then new realizations hit me. Since I’m now older and wiser, I think and believe these new ideas of mine could help you guys and save you some time.
1. There is no shame in summer school
This shame in summer school belief may not be shared by everyone. From where I came from, summer school is somehow apprehended with a little bit of reluctance. Everybody knows that you’re there because you’re in remedial or repeating a class you failed. No one is there to do advance class. When I first got here, I almost cried when I found out I’m going to summer school. Then I realized, it was for the better. I was there to catch up with my credits so I could graduate in time. Moreover, no one should be ashamed in school during the summer. You’re doing it to better yourself, and, aside from that, you get to make new friends from different schools!
2. Eating alone in the hallway is not recommended
I know this may not sound true to introverts, but as a fellow introvert and an immigrant, it would only make you feel sad to eat alone during lunch break. When I was in high school, I never ate in the cafeteria. I never got the chance to meet someone new during lunch breaks. I remember once I was eating by myself in the stairwell. A sad background music is the only thing that’s missing to make a depressing emo music video. I thought to myself, "this has to stop". So I begged my high school counsellor to find me friends. Best decision I did in high school (and taking planning 10 online :P)
3. Decreasing your credit/term load is not always a good thing
When I got into grade 12, I finally got the chance to have free blocks. I thought I didn’t have to take classes that were not necessary. I thought all I needed really was English 12, the rest were electives. Boy, I was wrong. I wish I took an Accounting 12 or Pre-Calculus 12 then I would probably have something to write on my résumé as experience or have prerequisites for college courses. Although, spending all those hours reading in the library is a joy too. The caveat is know what credits or classes you need to take before embarking on a schedule with lots of free blocks.
4. Make friends outside your circle
For us immigrants, we tend to be friends with the same people like we are. How can that be wrong? We know that birds of the same feather flock together. I was content with the friends that I have in school that I never bothered making new ones in my classes. Now, I can literally say I only have six friends. I don’t have anyone to talk to when they’re busy. I didn’t have friends or even acquaintance in my classes that they weren’t in. Learn from my mistake and step out of your comfort zone and make new friends that are not immigrants like you. You’ll have more connections and more strings to pull when you need it in the future. I know that sounded like a crude business person advice, but we have to accept that connections are important in the adult world, especially when you’re an immigrant.
5. Your GPA does not define you
Like any other parents, mine want me to get good grades. B+ is not good enough. I get sad when I’m not in the honour roll even though I knew I worked hard. I got so obsessed with getting good grades that I was not learning anymore. Being in school should mean that we are learning life lessons that we can use when we’re done schooling. I got so fed up with only wanting high grades that I can’t even remember what I learned about last term. And when I finally got into the honour roll, it wasn’t much that gratifying. What’s a grade on a paper going to do when you’re finally out of school and have to do everything on your own? Besides, there are a lot of factors that determine your grades, and your intelligence is not the sole predictor of it.
I’m sure that sometime in the future, I will find some new realizations and I’ll be glad to share it with you again. For now, I encourage you guys to take these suggestions into consideration and keep your head high! High school is not a place to dread for! Good luck.
- Anonymeh
The Anti-Bucket List
(An anti-bucket list is a list of things that
one hopes to never do before s/he dies)
Summer is
coming and most of us are already making plans to make the most out of it. Usually, we want
to try new things; we intend to do things that we haven’t done yet. Some stick
to what they have done last year and just revisit it, while others pull out
ideas from their bucket list.
A bucket
list is a list of things that a person wants to do before s/he dies. Summer is the
perfect time to do things we have been wanting to do. However, I want to change things up. Instead of doing things
from our bucket list this summer, how about we list some things we wish to
avoid doing while we are alive? Here are some things from my own anti-bucket
list:
1. Do drugs
or smoke
I don’t know
about you, but I firmly believe in saying no to (routinely consuming highly
addicting illegal) drugs. Your stance on
drugs might be completely different from mine, but I’ve done my research and I
know its negative health side effects. I know there are various types of drugs
and some of them are harmless. I would love to further explain my side to those
who believe otherwise, but it’s hard to shake someone’s belief especially when
they formed that since childhood. Additionally, just like what high school or
college cliché movies show, there are peer pressures everywhere. It might not
be from your peers but we can’t deny that we currently live in an era where the
line on drugs is blurred. One second, I’m antagonistic about it, the next
second I’m rationalising using it. Thanks, philosophy lecture class.
Nevertheless, I wish to never do drugs until I die. That would be quite an
achievement for a person like me who changes her mind every 15 seconds.
2. Skydiving
Skydiving is
one of the popular things we see on a bucket list. But for me, I would never
take the leap of faith simply because I don’t have faith. Kidding aside, I know
I have faith, but it’s just not that strong. Every person has their weakness,
and I think this is mine. Even if you offer me a million dollars to do a stunt
with safety and harness and all, I would not have the courage to do so. This is
unfortunate for me because every time someone asks me between having the
ability to fly or be invisible, I always choose flying!
3. Be stuck
in a deserted place
This is
probably because I have watched a lot of horror movies where people get stuck
in a deserted place and one by one they die because of psycho-killers. Maybe
it’s also the fact that I don’t trust people in this kind of situation. I feel
like when this happens, people easily forget being “human” and a war of “all
against all” begins. Or maybe, it’s just that I don’t trust my survival
skills.
4. Wake up before 3am
I know my
schedule and I know I never set things to do earlier than 7 am. Normally my
wake up time is around 6:40 am. Waking up earlier than that mostly gives me the
“sad”. A bit irrational, but the only time I have to wake around that hour is
when something bad has happened. I remember being woken up at 2 in the morning
knowing that my grandma died, traveling
at 4 in the morning to get in time for a relative’s funeral, being at the airport before 5 to send off my
mom to the airport. My sister also told
me this story that 3am is the hour of the devil and it’s bad to be up at that
hour or you’ll see ghosts staring at you (If you’re reading this at night, be
careful not to look at the closet. That’s where they hide). It’s probably the
last one that I don’t like waking up at 3 in the morning.
5. Choose
between two people that are important to you
I think it’s
fair to say that this is one of the things that a lot of people dread. I only see this happen in the movies, but
I’ll be wrecked if this happen to me. You just can’t choose one between two
people who are important to you. That’s like asking, "if you have to choose
between your hands, which one do you keep?" But you know what, I think what’s worse than this dilemma is to be one
of the two people who are being chosen, then not get picked. #gentlyapplywatertothatburn
These things
are from my own anti-bucket list. Yours may be very different from mine, but
that’s okay. Just remember that sometimes we need to avoid certain things in
order to make space for better, greater things. What’s in your anti-bucket list?
- Anonymeh
What's Up, Vancouver? (May 2015)
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| Photo by: Kenny Louie |
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