Welcome back to MOR’s advice column, where we address student questions! This quarter the questions, sent to us via Instagram, focus on topics regarding school and relationships.

I’m a freshman who’s having trouble adjusting to high school, what should I do?

Sometimes it can be hard being thrown into a big school with kids your age, to people who seem like they’re full-blown adults. I remember feeling the pressure of high school when I first started. There were so many new people I had never met and me, being the social person I am, wanted to interact with everyone I could. However, at the same time, I wanted to crawl into a hole, scared of the change high school meant. I remember finding the workload to be a lot, too, at times, and that was hard as someone who had never really struggled in school before. It took some time for me to adjust and get used to the environment, but as I got older, high school got easier. I was taking more classes I liked, which resulted in me doing very well in my classes. I also found a good group of people to surround myself with, while also joining clubs I enjoyed. I got my license, and life started to feel a bit easier. If your freshman year seems hard right now, just know you’re not alone. People handle it differently. The person with the biggest smile next to you could be cracking under pressure even if they don’t seem like they are. Spoiler alert, that was me. I tried to play it off like I was chill my freshman year, but then I was quickly known as the girl who cried all the time. That was a ‘yikes’ moment. Be patient with yourself, give yourself some time to
adjust, and know that this high school has a lot of fun stuff to offer, even if you haven’t found it yet. The upperclassmen also aren’t as scary as they seem… except during spirit week.

How do I tell the girl I like that I have a crush on her? We’re guy and girl friends, but I want to be more.

As someone who is a girl, I can say most of the time, honesty is the best policy. I would much rather a guy come and tell me straight up he likes me, rather than beating around the bush or avoiding me in order to avoid his feelings. Most of the time, if two people spend a lot of time together, they can become close enough and start a relationship, and that can be super beneficial. This is how some of my relationships have started, and I can say for sure, I have felt a lot more comfortable around those people in a relationship, because we already got over all the awkward small talk while being friends. We had already established a deep connection, and it made things go smoother. However, this may not always be the case. If you confess your feelings and she doesn’t like you back, it’ll hurt in the moment, but it does not mean you have to stop being friends. It may feel a little awkward at first, but I promise you, it’s a small blip in what could be years of friendship. At the end of the day, don’t overthink it. Read the signs she may be sending you and act accordingly.

What do I do if my teacher doesn’t like me?

One of the most important things to remember is that teachers are human, too. I know we think that they’re giving us that extra book report because they can, or that they made the deadline too short because they can, but they just have to follow guidelines too. They have a certain curriculum that they need to follow for us to learn what they are paid to teach. On top of that, they have personal lives too. They may be having a hard day or going through something that we can’t understand. Cut them some slack; teachers are very pleasant people most of the time. Even when they aren’t, remember how you may act when you have a bad day. You get moody or grumpy too. Remember that if you feel like a teacher doesn’t like you, don’t try to be mean back. Two wrongs don’t make a right, and kindness is always the easier route. It’s also okay to feel like every teacher isn’t your cup of tea. The most important thing to remember is to treat them with respect, even if that can seem hard some days. I know there have been times I have stressed about whether a teacher liked me, and I wanted to do everything in my power to impress them. Don’t overthink it and do your best to make a good impression and be the awesome student so many of us are.

How do I handle college admissions?

If you’re planning on going to college, it’s a crazy process. Take it from me because I’m currently going through it! I have been doing lots of work to make sure I pick the right school, making sure my applications are on the right track, recommendation letters, and so much more! While handling the college application process can be intense, think about how worth it is going to be when you open that acceptance letter to your dream school! One way I’ve handled the craziness is by making checklists for each thing I need to have done. This list includes making sure my Scoir profile is all done, signing up for Common App, reaching out to a teacher, etc. If you’re wondering if you’re too young to get started for all this, I promise you’re not. Obviously, don’t apply to college yet if you’re still a freshman, but start researching schools you may like, or majors you may be interested in! It’s never too early to have a good idea of what you want to do and where so when you start the process, it’s a piece of cake! I would also recommend making sure you have teachers in mind who may be good to write your recommendation letters. I promise you, this process is stressful now, but worth it in the long run!