Austin Scholar #27: ESSENTIAL Resources For Going Back To School
(For the Kids)
Hey, y'all!
Last week’s newsletter was for all y’all parents, but this one’s for your kids. I’m going to give you a list of the most essential apps, websites, and videos for going back to school, along with a message to the kids.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This week from Austin Scholar...
Austin’s Anecdote: What I’ve done to prepare for my junior year
A message to the kids
Scholar’s Sources: ESSENTIAL resources for going back to school
I’m officially switching my newsletter day from Wednesday to Sunday! Starting next week (on 8/28/22), I’ll be sending out my newsletters on “Scholar Sunday,” so make sure that you watch out for that.
I’ve also started to get pretty active on Twitter, so go follow @AustinScholar.
Also, today is actually my first day of my junior year of high school (I cannot believe that I am an upperclassman?!), so next week’s newsletter is sure to have some dramatic updates :)
Austin’s Anecdote: What I’ve Done To Prepare For My Junior Year
Junior year. It’s a big one.
I’ve got to worry about the SAT and multiple AP tests for my academics, while also working on my newsletter and Twitter so that I’m an interesting person, while also completing the unique requirements of Alpha.
It’s going to be a lot.
In this newsletter, I want to share what I’ve done this past week to get myself organized and prepared for the school year ahead.
The first thing I did was start to get a decent sleep schedule. As I talked about in Austin Scholar #10: Let Teenagers Take Naps, sleep is crucial for both the physical and mental growth of teenagers. And let’s just say: I’ve been taking some “creative liberties” with my sleep schedule this summer and have grown used to late nights and sleeping in.
Anyway, I’ve been trying to get back on track with my sleep and getting a really solid midnight to 9 AM (only one hour later than I’ll have to wake up during school!) during weekdays.
I’ve been winding down at night by watching a ton of inspirational (and sometimes pretty cringy) YouTube videos. Watching them has made me actually want to start school again and partake in the motivational exercises in the video.
Of course, a key part of every video is purchasing school supplies.
While I was at Oxford, I actually bought a notebook at Blackwells (my new happy place) that used to be an old book called “Some Principles of Fiction.” Because of how super cool this notebook is, I really want to put smart things in my notebook. And to do that, I need to learn some things. Motivation, check!
In preparation for the smart things that would go in my amazing notebook, I brainstormed a list of goals for my junior year. I know a lot of these will probably change, but I wanted to get an idea of how I wanted this school year to go. Some goals include: sign up for writing competitions, spend 30 minutes on Twitter every day, and get a 1500+ SAT score.
Now, for academics, I watched overview videos on every single one of my courses so that I know what I’m getting myself into. Then, I printed out the “final exam cram sheets” I use right before my tests, just so I can get a little bit ahead this year.
The final thing that I’ve done for school preparation is create my time blocking system.
If I sleep for eight hours every night, then I have sixteen hours of daytime to work with.
I decided that I would dedicate four hours to intense academics. During this time, I will do app work and SAT and AP prep.
Then, I’ll have four hours to work on my Masterpiece (my newsletter, Twitter, and Write of Passage).
Next is four hours of miscellaneous work. This can be anything from working through the Aceable driving test, to entering writing competitions, to random non-academic school assignments.
Finally, I’ll have four hours of free time: time for me to do whatever I want. I can watch TV, spend time with my friends, or go on walks.
Obviously, my 4-4-4-4 system isn’t going to be perfect at first, but hopefully this, along with everything else I’ve done to prepare for junior year, will make this year be great.