Being AMHS Seniors who have spent the last four years working through the trials and tribulations of Magnet while still being sure to have a good time, we have learned countless lessons. As we approach the fourth quarter of the school year and our graduation, we decided to recount some of these lessons to share them with the school’s population. So, here is a list that we compiled of all of our best strategies for surviving the next few years at magnet, in no particular order.

1. The Equilibrium:

Least amount of work = success

Finding the perfect balance between doing the least amount of work possible while succeeding is arguably the most important piece of advice we can give you. If you can find a way to get adequate sleep, stay in a good mental and physical state, and have good grades while doing a minimal amount of work, you have found the key to success at AMHS. Finding this balance takes time, and the easiest way to do this is to just wait for it to click. For most people this happens senior year, but here are some ways to get a head start. Frequently ask yourself these questions: 

• Will there be a review period before your assessment?
  • If the answer is yes, there’s a good chance that your teacher will go over exactly what you need to study right before you test. A lot of times the information is better retained when you hear it right before (If you have Mrs. Roop this is the case 100% of the time!!). Therefore, you might benefit from a little less studying the night before which frees up time to wind down and/or sleep. Also– if you have the opportunity to ask questions beforehand, do it (DISCLAIMER: We do not promote not studying for your tests).
• Is your homework due first block?
  • If the answer is no, homework can become classwork. As long as you can manage to pay attention to your teachers and get your actual classwork done, you can usually get loads of homework done at school within the remaining minutes of each block (DISCLAIMER: We do not promote being off-task in class or not doing your homework). 

2. Take the L on Occasion:

After freshman year, lots of classes that you take will become a mix of students from different grade levels. Because of this, your teachers will put less effort into working with each other to schedule assessments on different days. You might have Chemistry, Precalculus, and Spanish tests on the same day, but only 3 hours to study for all of them. On occasion, you will need to figure out which tests you need to put the most effort into, and not spend as much time (possibly sacrificing your grade) on the other ones. In some cases, this will work out great! If you are doing very well in one class or if you always know what is going on in it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to skip out on wasting time studying for it when you could be spending time on another subject (DISCLAIMER: Again, we do not promote not studying for your tests). Although this problem is inevitable and frequently plagues the students of Magnet, there are a few workable solutions:

• You can reschedule your assessment: Some teachers are gracious enough to have policies where you are able to take a test earlier or later if you have other assessments that day. 
• You can study more than one day in advance: Although this option may sound contradictory to the idea of doing as little work as possible, you can still study very minimally a few days in advance to prepare for multiple exams. 

3. Sleep:

This is the age-old piece of advice: getting a full night’s rest will be more beneficial than staying up all night to study. At a certain point, you aren’t going to retain the information you’re studying, and hitting the hay is going to prove to be a way better option. Being tired at school is literally the worst and if you have a big assessment that day it’s less likely that you’ll perform well. If you’re a napper with no after school activities, take a cat nap when you get home and then bang out some homework a little later in the night. You know how much sleep you ideally need, and as fun as staying up can be, keep in mind how you’ll feel the next day. Spoiler alert– it’s not going to be good. 

4. Find something to look forward to every week/weekend:

 We like to live paycheck (weekend) to paycheck (weekend)

There’s no better thought on a Monday than what you are doing on Friday. Think of every day as the next day’s eve. Example: Monday is Tuesday-Eve, Tuesday is Wednesday-Eve, Wednesday is Thursday-Eve or Friday-Eve-Eve, and Thursday is obviously Friday-Eve. Friday is the best day. If you zone out for the first three days of the week it’s basically Friday. Sousa thinks of it a little differently but also the same way. This is how Sousa thinks of it: Monday is just Monday, it’s alright. Tuesday rounds up to Wednesday which is hump day and also Thursday eve. So basically once you make it to Tuesday you are also on Wednesday and once you are on Wednesday you are on Thursday (so Tuesday is Thursday…see below). 

• If a = b and b = c then a = c
• By this same logic, if Tuesday = Wednesday and Wednesday = Thursday then Tuesday = Thursday!

BANG. Now you are on Thursday….FRIDAY EVE so therefore FRIDAY. HOORAY. YOU MADE IT. Anyways, to disassociate through the whole week you need something to look forward to. Here are some things that you can look forward to doing on Friday or Saturday:

• Going to a specific place to eat: It doesn’t have to be fancy, literally any place as long as you have some people to go with and it’s specific.
• Watching a specific show/movie/video: The more specific the better– you should also have someone who is going to do this with you and remind you of it several times a day until Friday. 
• Hanging out with bae: This one’s a classic. Spend some time with your special someone. 💜
• Something you haven’t done before: It makes it even more enticing if you haven’t done it because it helps you curate visions of what it will be like in your mind all week. 

5. Treat yourself:

Similarly to looking forward to Friday, try and find at least one thing that you are going to do after school to look forward to as a motivator to get through the day, after school activities, or homework. This can be watching an episode of your favorite TV show before bed, journaling, going out to eat, reading a book, coloring, or anything else your heart desires. Doing something for yourself each day makes your day a little less miserable. This works in tandem with the idea of doing the least amount of homework, because in order to do something for yourself you might need to carve out some time. As you get older, prioritizing yourself becomes way more important than school. Finding the balance is the key. 

6. Do everything in your power to perfect your schedule:

Your schedule controls exactly how your school year is going to play out, and lucky for you, you have control over it. Beginning with class choice, you can choose which courses best suit you for the next year. As AMHS students, people tend to overload their schedules and make their lives miserable. If you are not shooting for an Ivy League, there is no reason for you to be taking 15 AP classes. The difference between taking 9 AP classes versus 11 is not going to make or break your college decisions. So, if you aren’t planning on majoring in STEM, don’t go take 4 AP stem classes, take what’s right for you and your future goals. Also as a general reminder– almost all of our classes are honors. HONORS IS GOOD. If you receive your schedule at the beginning of the year and are not happy with how it’s laid out for any reason, it is entirely possible to get it adjusted. We highly recommend doing this for your senior year– it’s your last one, don’t be afraid to get it exactly how you’d like it. However, the best way to go about this is to figure out what changes you need to make before asking your counselor in order to make their jobs easier. Do this by asking around and looking at other people’s schedules. 

7. Get a job:

Getting a job in high school can be completely life-changing. It is another thing to distract you from school. Not only will you finally be able to beat the unemployed allegations, but you will gain important life skills and experience and have a steady flow of income. The job doesn’t have to be like an internship or working at a business. Working in a restaurant, working in retail, or even working at a car wash is a great idea. Working in any form of customer service will provide you with the experience of learning to expect the unexpected and prepare you to deal with all kinds of people and situations later in life. Apart from the experience, the benefits of having some spending money in high school are great! You can afford to do activities with your friends, buy fresh new clothes to wear to school, and have lots of extra money to spend on food. Everything costs money! It is good to have money! But, having money also introduces you to learning when you should be spending or saving it, which is an important virtue as well. 

8. Stay emotionally aware (of yourself AND others): 

Especially during intense times of high stress, it is easy to get swept up in school work, sports, jobs, college things, if you are a senior, and more. It is no lie that attending AMHS can at times be an incredibly strenuous experience. If you are not careful to stay emotionally aware, you can put your mental health (and others) at risk. What most people fail to realize, though, is that prioritizing mental health does not mean sacrificing your productivity. In fact, emotional awareness (recognizing your own needs while respecting the well-being of others) enables you to perform at your best. Whether it’s setting boundaries with your workload or finding small moments of joy, developing this awareness is a lifelong skill that extends far beyond high school. There is no better time to start practicing than now! Supporting one another through the day-to-day challenges not only strengthens friendships AND mental health but also reminds us that success is not just about grades or achievements. It is equally about our well-being and the connections we create along the way. Here are also some easy ways that we recommend (from experience) to stay emotionally aware of yourself and others:

• Think before you speak/act: Everyone at our school is a big thinker. Everyone has a lot of thoughts. Because of this, it is important to keep an open mind and ALWAYS think about others’ perspectives. 
• Check-in on your friends: Checking in on your friends can help both you and your friends stay emotionally aware. You might be dealing with similar obstacles that they are. They might have some insights you have not thought of, or you might be able to give them some advice. 
• Consider a method of self-reflection: Finding ways to process your thoughts and emotions is just as important as staying aware of others. Journaling, drawing, or any other creative outlet can help you slow down and make sense of your feelings and experiences.

9. Touch grass:

Getting outside and reconnecting with nature is absolutely one of the best things you can do to escape the suffocating physical and mental environment that going to such a rigorous school can put you in. Playing a sport outside, going on a run, or even just taking a walk can have you feeling almost instantly better. Personally, we enjoy strolling through the park with friends. Especially as the standardized testing season and end of the school year are coming up (along with warmer weather!) this is a great activity to work on building into your schedule. But beyond just being a fun way to reset, getting outside is a necessity for surviving four years of high school with your sanity intact. We aren’t meant to sit inside all day, staring at screens under harsh fluorescent lighting, drowning in assignments and deadlines. We need fresh air, sunlight, and movement. Even just a few minutes outside can reset your mind, improve focus, and keep you from spiraling into academic burnout. Plus, stepping away from schoolwork to exist in the real world for a bit reminds you that life is bigger than school. So go outside! Feel the breeze! Smell the flowers! Touch some grass! Your future self will thank you.

Truthfully, going to school at AMHS is what you make of it. Whether or not you choose to take inspiration from our insights and implement them into your life is up to you. DO WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT! What is most important is that you stay happy and healthy throughout these four years, because even though there is a colossal workload, you can still have a lot of fun.