Can you be a devoted Christian in high school?

So you're a freshman.  If a senior calls you a fish, don't get angry.  Just smile and laugh.  Take it.  There is no reason to freak out.  High school should be the best time of your life.  Don't let anything ruin it.  Here are five tips of how to survive high school, written from a senior.  To see yesterday's five tips, click here.

1.  Be respectful to those around you.  Don't stand in the hallway and chat with your friends.  The hallway isn't big enough for that.  You're in the way.  Do not stand in front of someone's locker.  That's just plain rude.  Never stand in front of a doorway to talk.  Don't bring a zillion girls to have a mini-party in the bathroom.  There may be a student who actually needs to go.  Remember that you're the freshman this year.  For the next nine months, you are the youngest of everyone in the school.  That doesn't have to be any big deal as long as you don't linger public hallways, doors, bathrooms, and lockers, which would get you mean stares even if you weren't a freshman.  Don't wander around in groups of loud, giggling, squealing girls.  Be respectful to those around you.  Don't ever do the things I listed above, even when you get older.  It's rude, no matter who you are.

2.  Actually do your homework.  School really does matter when you're a freshman.  This will be your easiest year of high school academically, but it will still matter.  Don't slack off.  Keep your grades up or you'll destroy your GPA and your chances of getting a good scholarship.  The best ways to keep up your grades are to turn in your homework and actually study.  That's right.  Designate thirty minutes to an hour of homework time each evening.  Just get it over with.

3. Don't be afraid to reach out to older girls.  Do you need a mentor, someone to look up to?  Do you need someone to give you fashion advice, boy advice, or just an older-sister kind of friendship?  Talk to an upperclassman girl.  Reach out to us.  We're the leaders of the school and we feel that pressure.  We want to reach out to you and mentor you.  You will not be turned away.  We are experienced in high school situations that you haven't gone through yet.  If you're going through a problem, we can help you solve it.  Started your period at school?  That's embarrassing.  We can lend you a jacket and give you a tampon without spreading it around the school.  We're more mature than your friends are right now.  We're older, and we'd love to give you advice.   All you have to do is ask.

4. Be sure to keep up with your spiritual walk.  Freshman year is busy and crazy and fun and stressful.  You need to be sure to read the Bible and have a little quiet time with God every day or He will drift into the shadows of your life.  In order to have a successful first year of high school, God needs to be number one.  Keep praying.  Keep studying.  Keep growing in Him.

5. Do not act out in class to look cool.  It's not funny.  You look stupid.  Do not dress outlandishly to look cool.  It's not funny.  You look stupid.  Do not make funny remarks after what an "uncool" person or the teacher says to look cool.  It's not funny.  You look stupid.  Do not be the class clown to look cool.  It's not funny.  You look stupid.  Maybe you should read this out loud.