OK, so, I start school tomorrow...

[blackout]

I'M COMPLETELY UNPREPARED! I'm off my sleep schedule, and I'm practically guaranteed to wake up hours later than I'm supposed to, I'm freakin' doomed, man! GAME OVER MAN! GAME OVER!

....Ok, freakouts aside, I'm starting 8th grade this year. Got held back last year, not happy, don't discuss it.

But, really, I'm completely unprepared, and everyone's acting like it's no big deal. I mess this up, I'm screwed. No computer, no video games, no books, NOTHING, for years to come.

[The Great Skenardo]

Uh. Anyone in the house who could be persuaded to awaken you with a bucket of water, should you oversleep?

Also: Never leave your alarm within arm's reach of your bed. Put it on your desk, or something.

Begin working on that sleep schedule right away. Go to bed early, instead of hanging around the forums or whatever until past midnight.

[Calamity]

Man, i feel so sorry for you. I learnt in one of my maths lessons that school = hell.

Good luck though in 8th grade, even though my knowledge of the American schooling system is laughable.

I will not torture you by telling you how much longer my school holidays last for, because I'm not evil..... yet

[blackout]

Gee, thanks Calamity.

And no. My parents are very adamant about letting me deal with problems on my own. I swear, if I weren't their kid, they'd have kicked me onto the streets a long time ago.

Good plan with the alarm, I'll remember that.

[Mountain_Faerie]

See if someone can double check and make sure you woke up. Also, do you have a ride to school? Line that up tonight.
You can do this. It sounds like it is really important to you, so just focus on getting through the 8th grade.

[zeratul]

Don't worry man eighth grade is easy, plus you'll get cool points with people for a having a girlfriend a year above you ( )

Just kidding, but seriously, here's how you get back on your sleep schedule. First pull an all nighter, the next day instead of napping stay awake untill about ten, then go to sleep, and set your alarm clock to when you need to be up. Then you should be back on your chedule weather you go to sleep at 10, 11, 12 whatever.

[blackout]

Zeratul: Thanks for that, I'll do that.

Mountain_Fairie: Yeah, I got a ride. I'll be taking the bus. And, yes, it is important to me. Not because I want to excell(who WANTS to do that?! It's too much pressure. ), but because I just want to have a shot at a half-decent life when this is over and done with.

[zeratul]

Oh and just because I feel like rubbing it in your face, no school for me for about 25 days .

I don't know about school in different areas of our country. I mean I live in NYS which is supposed to be the second hardest school system in the country, so as long as your not from here or California it shouldn't be too bad.

[blackout]

I'm in the best school in southern Louisiana. There's gonna be alot of pressure from teachers, and my parents, and then there's the constant bugging from my little siblings. I swear, this place is all that's keeping me sane. So, I guess you could consider this particular post an official thank you.

[tannish2]

ok heres how to deal with american public school... wirecutters, and something to jam the lock on your way in before they close the gates so you can get a REAL lunch. you have no idea how much that helps, if you have the cash. and remember IT DOESNT MATTER dont take anything there to seriously. and when you get to high school dont let the cops or drug dogs bother you, unless of course the drug dogs find you, but if that happens then its your own damn fault for smoking pot at school.

EDIT: ya, i suppose a footstool would work just as well, but its not as dramatic... or reliable

[blackout]

Wow. That sounds...a bit drastic.

[Lord Herman]

...they lock the gate at American schools? That's crazy!

[blackout]

Not only that, but they have barbed wire fences. The places are madhouses.

[Vespe Ratavo]

Oooh...my 8th grade starts in two weeks...

Why is the Jaws theme playing in my head?

[zeratul]

...they lock the gate at American schools? That's crazy!

They're yanking your chain Herman. They don't, at least not here. Although they do take people away in cuffs for fighting.

[blackout]

You have good reason to fear, Vespe.

[Slash_712]

OKay, I will give this one a shot. Hows about you sign up for a sport like say, football and then right before school starts you can have a week aof two-a-days starting at 7:30 and go till about 1:45 or so. yeah after that week, you should be used to it. How do I know? I am doing that right now and it hurts.

[Eldpollard]

8th grade, would that make you 14? My knowledge of the American school system isn't. Well, good luck and work on the sleep thing, the forums probably aren't the best thing for this.

And GitP is keeping you SANE? I hate to think of the comparison.

[tannish2]

ya, mine was one of the last in the district to get a wall... its to keep us safe... from quadrapolegic terrorists and paralyzed drug dealers... even though most of the illegal substances come in through the front gate, and they JUST added the barbed wire over summer... its fun... and noone realizes that it doesnt actually keep anyone on either side of the wall, its just a massive insult to the students and noone i bothering to speak up about it, i personally think its a brainwashing tool, but then again, im known to be mildly paranoid(and being occasionally proven right does NOT help)

[SurlySeraph]

It's moments like this that I give thanks that I go to a private school. It makes everything easier; there aren't as many lunatics, homicidal nuts, and druggies (and the ones that there are are generally better-managed). And they give us some freedom. And even though our work is generally harder, we don't have the thousands of standardized tests.

I'd like to contradict tannish2 here. Work your ass off. You may have no life, but it's how you get ahead, and it's how you get into college. You can have a healthy social life later. My advice: just work hard and do work in advance in every class. Don't get lazy. And when the damn standardized tests are coming up, get a book for them (if you can) and study for them.

Teachers always go easy the first few days to let everyone adjust, even as late as 8th grade (though expect homework on your first day). Get in a normal sleep pattern as fast as you can - if you stay up late to work every night, you'll just end up spending more time doing less work because you'll always be too tired to work hard.

And remember that it could be worse. Some schools in Florida start in July!

[Vespe Ratavo]

Personally, I'm 13. Going to turn 14 in February.

And strangely, my school doesn't have walls or fences or any such things.

[Lord Herman]

I just checked your profile to see what 8th grade is, and you're all much younger than I expected. blackout, zeratul, and Vespe... all 13 or 14 years old? From the quality of your posts, I would have expected you three to be older.

edit: Also, listen to SurlySeraph. SurlySeraph is wise.

[blackout]

And GitP is keeping you SANE? I hate to think of the comparison.

This is not an exaggeration. This is FACT. Every day and night I go through the same routine: Take out the trash, do the dishes, walk the dog, suffer a barrage of insults from my younger siblings that hit so close to home it's not even funny, and then suffer the same barrage of insults from my parents. Following that? GitP. Trust me. It's not an exaggeration.

[RationalGoblin]

I'm going to a private school and I'm starting the 1st of September, so I can't really know how you feel. But of course, it's going to be very interesting at my school, oh yes. To quote the F4 movie's version of Doctor Doom: "This... Is gonna be fun!"

Seriously, I'm starting 8th grade also, so I know how you feel. A little bit. You'll have time for video games and the computer and books when you come home from school. Don't worry about homework. 'Cause, hey, if you post here, I'd say your the equivilant of MENSA.

[Eldpollard]

I see, GitP is a loving safe haven, and is about as far from routine as it's possible to be.

[Vespe Ratavo]

Everyone's calling me smart.

Oh, and blackout, may I just say that The Beatles songs do wonders for relieving stress?

[blackout]

You may. Of course, beating the crap out of random people on the streets and then leaving them for dead would do wonders as well. It's not so much the routines that get to me, it's the fact that they can do anything they want to me, and I can't retaliate in any way, shape or form. But, back on topic, I'll tell you my sob stories later.

[tannish2]

in private school its different, most of the teachers are good, so the classes are fun, unfortunately in public schools they WANT bad teachers, the ones who will teach to the test, and they actually like hiring easily suggestable teachers, the type who dont like to say "NO" to their bosses, really pisses me off because they want to not really teach us everything, jsut teach us to the tests, which means a very narrow range of information, and they have to refresh the teachers every couple years, so taht they dont learn how to actually teach. and start teaching people things that are actually useful instead of how to take and/or break a test.

and in public school its not good to get noticed, and it has NO advantages until HS, and more work thats more difficult, get C's, with the occasional B, if you get a D get an A until HS THEN things START to matter for college, standardized tests dont really matter, take a book, and remember to read for fun on occasion. if you forget you forget that theres a such thing as a good book.

[blackout]

Alright, I'll keep all that in mind, thanks.

[Lord Herman]

The problem is that if you start aiming for B's or C's, you will have a hard time getting A's later on. In fact, you'll have a hard time getting B's or C's later on.