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Author Topic: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School  (Read 7704 times)

HarpingHawke

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How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« on: February 25, 2016, 12:19:14 pm »
...as a teen under the pagan umbrella!

Full disclosure: I'm a junior at a high-stress, Catholic college prep. I'm not having a good experience, and this is generally for other people who are also not having a good experience. Good luck.


   ⁃   Liturgies

If your school has weekly or monthly liturgies, you know how much of a pain they can be. The best advice I can give is to sit through them respectfully. They're annoying, but every so often, you *can* actually learn something. Which, yes. It's frustrating to no end. But you aren't obligated to even mouth along to the prayers, and unless your school is 100% baptized Catholic, you aren't obligated to take communion either. Focus on the things you *don't* have to do, rather than the things that are mandatory. It helps.

   ⁃   Uniform and/or Dress Code

Yep, they're usually pretty sexist, not to mention generally uncomfortable and, if you're AFAB, designed to boil you alive during the warmer months. This is, once again, something you might feel obligated to rail against; I know I do. However, the best advice I can give you is to at least *try* to stay within the confines of the code. You'll be free of it sooner than you think, because guess what? Four years actually goes by really fast!

   ⁃   "Respect" and Doing "Well"

The best advice I can give you is to make it as easy as possible for yourself to go to college, meaning that you might have to be a bit of a suck-up. Be genuine, but add a teaspoon of sugar. You'll get good recommendation letters, you might get extensions when other people don't (don't count on it but it's something that *could* happen), and you might make a few connections that'll help you keep your disciplinary record clear. The easier it is for you to get out of there, the better. The sooner you can get out of there, the better.

Therefore, it's a good idea to get the best grades you can manage (and still get 6-8 hours of sleep a night). If you get stuck with a shitty class, or you have to take religion courses, the best revenge truly is doing well in them. Why? It's saying, indirectly, that despite the fact that this is a shitty class with a horrible teacher, I excelled. Their incompetence does not affect me.

If you simply can't do that, it's okay. You're still worthy and valid, despite your what your grade is, because your grades reduce you to a set of numbers, and *that is not what you are.* My high school expects 4.2 GPAs and involvement in six different clubs and, in addition, sports and community service and campus ministry. Sure, some people can do that. But some people (me), for whatever reasons, just can't or won't be involved in so much. They don't always have straight A's, and that's okay. As a friend of mine says, "C's get degrees," and community college and a transfer is also an option. Just survive high school long enough to get the hell out of there.

Make sure you're sleeping at *least* 6 hours regularly and that you're hydrated and eating enough. Everybody does homework at lunch. It's okay.

   ⁃   Religion Classes

Why an entire section for this? Because mandatory religion classes at Catholic school suck. They just do. No matter where you go, they're gonna suck. You might not hear a lot about Jesus (because some schools try to be inclusive??? And it doesn't work but they ??? still ??? do it?????) but you will hear so much about "the Catholic perspective" that your ears bleed. You will have to write papers about "the Catholic perspective" and give presentations about "the Catholic perspective" and you will be so inundated with it that sometimes you'll wake up in the middle of the night, the voice of your first religion teacher echoing in your head, saying "I don't want to hear *your* perspective, I want to hear the Catholic perspective."

Not like that's happened to me or anything. Snrk.

This is the one class I'm gonna say it's okay to bullshit in. As long as you turn in something complete, coherent, and at least sorta following the rubric, you'll be fine. Unless they're talking about Biblical history and context (which is actually interesting, and also something you can use to debate with in the future), feel free to zone out. It's a religion class, so make it look like you're taking notes and do some devotional writing, or work on spells, or print out papers on the uses of herbs and try to memorize them. Just don't fall asleep.

Just going from my experience, the teacher is going to talk about how it's important to build community (it is), and then go on to say that you're all a big family. It's not harmful to think that way, but if you're anything like me, you're gonna be rolling your eyes and drumming your fingers and waiting for the damn period to end so you don't have to deal with this anymore. Take a deep breath. Count down the minutes and try to focus on something else. Did you have something nice for breakfast? Are you in the middle of a good book? Did you draw something awesome today?

Focus on the good.

   ⁃   End Notes (for now)

Luckily, you're not going to be there for as long as you think. It does seem like it'll be forever, but one day you're gonna wake up and you'll be three-quarters done with your junior year and you'll wonder where the hell the time went because you still feel about twelve. You won't be there for as long as you think.

Find a place to escape to, something to do. My refuge is TC, the band room, and the art classrooms. High school, again, is not forever, but when it seems like everything's going to crush you, find that (!healthy!) escape and be there for a while. Work and bullshitting Catholicism can wait.

Lastly:

You'll be okay. Things will work out and there *is* a light at the end of the tunnel. You'll be okay, I promise.

*

Anybody else have any tips?
« Last Edit: February 25, 2016, 12:22:47 pm by HarpingHawke »
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Hemingway

HarpingHawke

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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #1 on: February 25, 2016, 12:39:16 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187210


 
I just thought of a thing!

Don't blame teachers for everything. Often, the curriculum is not under their control. If you want something to be mad at, be mad at the administration--they're the ones who make most of the decisions, the ones who run the school like a business.

Not everything (only some things ;)) is the teachers' faults.
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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #2 on: February 25, 2016, 01:14:28 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187210
...as a teen under the pagan umbrella!

Full disclosure: I'm a junior at a high-stress, Catholic college prep. I'm not having a good experience, and this is generally for other people who are also not having a good experience. Good luck.


   ⁃   Liturgies

If your school has weekly or monthly liturgies, you know how much of a pain they can be. The best advice I can give is to sit through them respectfully. They're annoying, but every so often, you *can* actually learn something. Which, yes. It's frustrating to no end. But you aren't obligated to even mouth along to the prayers, and unless your school is 100% baptized Catholic, you aren't obligated to take communion either. Focus on the things you *don't* have to do, rather than the things that are mandatory. It helps.

   ⁃   Uniform and/or Dress Code

Yep, they're usually pretty sexist, not to mention generally uncomfortable and, if you're AFAB, designed to boil you alive during the warmer months. This is, once again, something you might feel obligated to rail against; I know I do. However, the best advice I can give you is to at least *try* to stay within the confines of the code. You'll be free of it sooner than you think, because guess what? Four years actually goes by really fast!

   ⁃   "Respect" and Doing "Well"

The best advice I can give you is to make it as easy as possible for yourself to go to college, meaning that you might have to be a bit of a suck-up. Be genuine, but add a teaspoon of sugar. You'll get good recommendation letters, you might get extensions when other people don't (don't count on it but it's something that *could* happen), and you might make a few connections that'll help you keep your disciplinary record clear. The easier it is for you to get out of there, the better. The sooner you can get out of there, the better.

Therefore, it's a good idea to get the best grades you can manage (and still get 6-8 hours of sleep a night). If you get stuck with a shitty class, or you have to take religion courses, the best revenge truly is doing well in them. Why? It's saying, indirectly, that despite the fact that this is a shitty class with a horrible teacher, I excelled. Their incompetence does not affect me.

If you simply can't do that, it's okay. You're still worthy and valid, despite your what your grade is, because your grades reduce you to a set of numbers, and *that is not what you are.* My high school expects 4.2 GPAs and involvement in six different clubs and, in addition, sports and community service and campus ministry. Sure, some people can do that. But some people (me), for whatever reasons, just can't or won't be involved in so much. They don't always have straight A's, and that's okay. As a friend of mine says, "C's get degrees," and community college and a transfer is also an option. Just survive high school long enough to get the hell out of there.

Make sure you're sleeping at *least* 6 hours regularly and that you're hydrated and eating enough. Everybody does homework at lunch. It's okay.

   ⁃   Religion Classes

Why an entire section for this? Because mandatory religion classes at Catholic school suck. They just do. No matter where you go, they're gonna suck. You might not hear a lot about Jesus (because some schools try to be inclusive??? And it doesn't work but they ??? still ??? do it?????) but you will hear so much about "the Catholic perspective" that your ears bleed. You will have to write papers about "the Catholic perspective" and give presentations about "the Catholic perspective" and you will be so inundated with it that sometimes you'll wake up in the middle of the night, the voice of your first religion teacher echoing in your head, saying "I don't want to hear *your* perspective, I want to hear the Catholic perspective."

Not like that's happened to me or anything. Snrk.

This is the one class I'm gonna say it's okay to bullshit in. As long as you turn in something complete, coherent, and at least sorta following the rubric, you'll be fine. Unless they're talking about Biblical history and context (which is actually interesting, and also something you can use to debate with in the future), feel free to zone out. It's a religion class, so make it look like you're taking notes and do some devotional writing, or work on spells, or print out papers on the uses of herbs and try to memorize them. Just don't fall asleep.

Just going from my experience, the teacher is going to talk about how it's important to build community (it is), and then go on to say that you're all a big family. It's not harmful to think that way, but if you're anything like me, you're gonna be rolling your eyes and drumming your fingers and waiting for the damn period to end so you don't have to deal with this anymore. Take a deep breath. Count down the minutes and try to focus on something else. Did you have something nice for breakfast? Are you in the middle of a good book? Did you draw something awesome today?

Focus on the good.

   ⁃   End Notes (for now)

Luckily, you're not going to be there for as long as you think. It does seem like it'll be forever, but one day you're gonna wake up and you'll be three-quarters done with your junior year and you'll wonder where the hell the time went because you still feel about twelve. You won't be there for as long as you think.

Find a place to escape to, something to do. My refuge is TC, the band room, and the art classrooms. High school, again, is not forever, but when it seems like everything's going to crush you, find that (!healthy!) escape and be there for a while. Work and bullshitting Catholicism can wait.

Lastly:

You'll be okay. Things will work out and there *is* a light at the end of the tunnel. You'll be okay, I promise.

*

Anybody else have any tips?

 
I have nothing to add (and as an unyielding philo-Catholic could probably not contribute anything even if I wanted to) but I would like to say that I'm deeply surprised you're so young.

*is quietly pleased that he isn't the youngest person on TC*

Actually, wait, no, I'll throw this bit in:

College =! high-school. Even community college. Forming good habits in HS will serve you more than anything in college. Don't be like Castus and skate through highschool, and then start drowning as a college freshman.
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

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HarpingHawke

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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2016, 01:49:56 pm »
Quote from: Castus;187212
I have nothing to add (and as an unyielding philo-Catholic could probably not contribute anything even if I wanted to) but I would like to say that I'm deeply surprised you're so young.

*is quietly pleased that he isn't the youngest person on TC*

I feel as though we've had this conversation before...

But hey, a Catholic edumacation is good for something! (Like appearing older than you are on the internet)

Quote
Actually, wait, no, I'll throw this bit in:

College =! high-school. Even community college. Forming good habits in HS will serve you more than anything in college. Don't be like Castus and skate through highschool, and then start drowning as a college freshman.

Good yes that. Form good habits guys!
« Last Edit: February 25, 2016, 01:50:24 pm by HarpingHawke »
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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2016, 05:16:02 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187210
...as a teen under the pagan umbrella!

Full disclosure: I'm a junior at a high-stress, Catholic college prep. I'm not having a good experience, and this is generally for other people who are also not having a good experience. Good luck.

 
Sigh, memories.

I didn't mind liturgies, as at least we got out of class for a bit. I liked uniforms too because it made getting ready in the morning really easy. Religion classes were fun too, they are usually bird courses and can help boost your GPA. Catholic schools here in Ontario offer a World Religions course in 11th grade as the required theology credit for that grade, and 12th grade theology was more philosophical and less Bible-and-Jesus, if I remember correctly.

Hang in there, it's not so bad!

HarpingHawke

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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #5 on: February 25, 2016, 05:28:25 pm »
Quote from: Demophon;187223
Sigh, memories.

I didn't mind liturgies, as at least we got out of class for a bit. I liked uniforms too because it made getting ready in the morning really easy. Religion classes were fun too, they are usually bird courses and can help boost your GPA. Catholic schools here in Ontario offer a World Religions course in 11th grade as the required theology credit for that grade, and 12th grade theology was more philosophical and less Bible-and-Jesus, if I remember correctly.

Hang in there, it's not so bad!

 
:) thanks.

Looking at the positive in situations truly is helpful--your opinions are suggestions in and of themselves. :D

And also, if there happens to be a very young lurker wandering around this thread, I'm gonna say that everyone's experience is going to be different, because we all think differently and thus have different context to view things in. So, if you're here and you aren't in high school yet, just try to go into Catholic school with a positive attitude. If something changes that, at least you tried.
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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #6 on: February 25, 2016, 06:08:34 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187210

   ⁃   Uniform and/or Dress Code

Yep, they're usually pretty sexist, not to mention generally uncomfortable


Do girls still wear the kilts? They were grandfathering them out in my later years of Catholic high school, though I don't know if that was specific to my school, or more widespread. The kilts were usually hiked up way higher than intended, so it got a bit awkward if someone in a kilt was walking up the stairs in front of you and you got a flash of her nether regions. Both sexes ended up having the same uniforms, which was a golf shirt with the school logo, grey dress pants, and black dress shoes. Now that I think about it, the uniform underwent a lot of changes while I was in school (which was still less than a decade ago, I'm not that old!), as I remember in 9th grade we still had to wear white dress shirts and ties. Those eventually morphed into golf shirts, and the kilts disappeared.
 
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187225
:) thanks.

Looking at the positive in situations truly is helpful--your opinions are suggestions in and of themselves. :D

 
Good , I'm glad :)

I still kind of pine for my high school. I remember when I graduated and started attending a secular university, I really noticed something missing, like a shared identity and sense of community with my peers. Even the religious aspects of it were hard to lose, as I enjoyed being in an educational setting where spirituality was part of the package rather than something to be mocked as archaic superstition. I know it's always annoying when people say this, but enjoy your time in high school while you have it. Not that I'm saying it's the best time of a person's life, but it's definitely a unique and formational experience.

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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #7 on: February 25, 2016, 06:41:27 pm »
Quote from: Demophon;187227
Do girls still wear the kilts? They were grandfathering them out in my later years of Catholic high school, though I don't know if that was specific to my school, or more widespread. The kilts were usually hiked up way higher than intended, so it got a bit awkward if someone in a kilt was walking up the stairs in front of you and you got a flash of her nether regions. Both sexes ended up having the same uniforms, which was a golf shirt with the school logo, grey dress pants, and black dress shoes. Now that I think about it, the uniform underwent a lot of changes while I was in school (which was still less than a decade ago, I'm not that old!), as I remember in 9th grade we still had to wear white dress shirts and ties. Those eventually morphed into golf shirts, and the kilts disappeared.


I don't go to a school that uses uniforms regularly--we just have a strict and nitpicky dress code. Like, AFAB people can wear turtlenecks but not mock turtlenecks??

I do know that the local girls' Catholic high uses uniform skirts, though.
 
 
Quote
I still kind of pine for my high school. I remember when I graduated and started attending a secular university, I really noticed something missing, like a shared identity and sense of community with my peers. Even the religious aspects of it were hard to lose, as I enjoyed being in an educational setting where spirituality was part of the package rather than something to be mocked as archaic superstition.


I'm glad one of us had a good experience. That isn't to say mine's been all bad so far, but I know that where I currently go isn't where I fit, and I'm excited to move on to college.

Quote
Not that I'm saying it's the best time of a person's life, but it's definitely a unique and formational experience.

 
It's definitely been that.
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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #8 on: February 25, 2016, 08:10:42 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187210

   ⁃   Liturgies


Didn't go to a religious school, but I did get dragged to church a couple of times by my parents. My strategy: I pretended I was an anthropologist.

Quote

Make sure you're sleeping at *least* 6 hours regularly and that you're hydrated and eating enough.


Good advice for anyone!

Quote

Find a place to escape to, something to do. My refuge is TC, the band room, and the art classrooms.


Mine were fantasy novels and writing terrible fanfics (before I even knew fanfic was a thing).

A couple of things I would say to high-school-aged people, pagan or not:

1. If a subject seems boring, that's probably just the highschool curriculum, not the subject as a whole. I suspect that often highschool material avoids the really interesting bits, either because someone thinks they're too controversial (history, literature), too complex (math) or both (religious studies probably falls here). Fortunately, the Internet now exists.

2. Camouflage is different from conformity. You can show people what they want to see, and keep your real identity safe underneath it.

3. For the socially-awkward, a non-school activity like Scouts/Guides can be a lifesaver - something non-competitive. It's organised, but without the pressure to succeed like in school.
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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #9 on: February 25, 2016, 09:03:16 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187210
I'm a junior at a high-stress, Catholic college prep. I'm not having a good experience, and this is generally for other people who are also not having a good experience.

Anybody else have any tips?

 
I'm glad that appreciating what you don't have to do has helped you. Unfortunately, I've been in a situation where if you don't cross yourself or mouth along with the prayers, somebody is going to notice; and then when you start, someone else is going to notice and doubt that you (general you) has converted. Keep making compromises, and some people begin to feel like a husk of a person stuffed with lifeless ash and lint. While I personally noped out of that into a situation that was less spiritually restrictive (although so tight on money that I couldn't afford to eat so often that my fingernails would splinter as they grew), maybe considering that as more of a spiritual hibernation rather than a death to which the conformity will be permanent is...um, healthier both ways? In any case, I admire your (specific you) resilience.

Maybe, too, another thing that would have helped me get through a bit better was to build a sort of firewall or persona. I couldn't make a distinction between doing what was necessary-but-inauthentic and hypocrisy, but if you (general you) can build those walls between what your gods know you to be, how you view yourself, how those closes to you know you, how those you have a working relationship with view you, and how the outside world views you...it might be a worthy psychological investment, even though it sounds complicated to explain, it would be difficult to dismantle if that's made a habit of, and carries some stigma ("that person always has their walls up").

Another thing that allows me to coexist with a religious system that had been wielded so invasively, was to consider living Catholic as an opportunity to study Catholicism from an innately othered point of view. This is the way I handled it in my youth, except as I said I had no filter/firewall/persona so I tended to announce that I was attending church as an interested outsider to spend time with my family instead of letting everyone think I was part of the tribe. I wouldn't do that now, because I've learned that you don't get outside validation for honesty even from religious systems in which morality is such a big part, and maybe because I'm more comfortable with hypocrisy. I keep encountering, in short histories on some unrelated subject like the modern calendar (Michael Judge) or cuss words (Melissa Mohr), that what my unhealthy boundaries having teenaged self considered unconscionable "hypocrisy" was actually how Catholicism grew into an empire and survived the rise of Protestantism. Individual Catholics did what they did to survive persecution, even as the religious system provided the terms in which to couch justification for witch hunts, Crusades, and the Inquisition.

Pragmatism can be a virtue, too, and the pressure-cooker like what you're going through can be sort of boot camp for it! Your fingernails will do better than mine: they're clawing your way out of the life you were given and into the life that you're free to make for yourself. I salute you and all other pagan high schoolers in Catholic high school.

(Yours truly, 20-something living in the only country in the world that has no divorce in the law because de facto theocracy.)
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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #10 on: February 25, 2016, 09:16:01 pm »
Quote from: Faemon;187233

Another thing that allows me to coexist with a religious system that had been wielded so invasively, was to consider living Catholic as an opportunity to study Catholicism from an innately othered point of view. This is the way I handled it in my youth, except as I said I had no filter/firewall/persona so I tended to announce that I was attending church as an interested outsider to spend time with my family instead of letting everyone think I was part of the tribe. I wouldn't do that now, because I've learned that you don't get outside validation for honesty even from religious systems in which morality is such a big part, and maybe because I'm more comfortable with hypocrisy. I keep encountering, in short histories on some unrelated subject like the modern calendar (Michael Judge) or cuss words (Melissa Mohr), that what my unhealthy boundaries having teenaged self considered unconscionable "hypocrisy" was actually how Catholicism grew into an empire and survived the rise of Protestantism. Individual Catholics did what they did to survive persecution, even as the religious system provided the terms in which to couch justification for witch hunts, Crusades, and the Inquisition.

Pragmatism can be a virtue, too, and the pressure-cooker like what you're going through can be sort of boot camp for it! Your fingernails will do better than mine: they're clawing your way out of the life you were given and into the life that you're free to make for yourself. I salute you and all other pagan high schoolers in Catholic high school.

(Yours truly, 20-something living in the only country in the world that has no divorce in the law because de facto theocracy.)

 
Pragmatism is most definitely a virtue!

And...wow, to the rest of your post, because I have nothing else to say and apparently giving you rep freezes my computer. I'm so glad I started this thread--so many diverse perspectives!!
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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #11 on: February 26, 2016, 07:13:09 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187210
Anybody else have any tips?

 
Ah, I spent fifteen years or so in the Catholic education system (over 90% of Irish schools are Catholic- nearly ALL wear strict uniforms). I did my Communion and Confirmation- had no choice. Tremendous pressure to do both and was really unaware I had a choice, I did not wish to do Confirmation.

My pieces of advice would be:

1. When you must attend the regular school masses, use the time to meditate and speak to your own gods. Many of us did not go up for communion especially as we got older, if you can remain seated during this do.

2. Grin and bear it through religion classes- we had exams until I was 16 in the subject, afterwards none (you can do it but my school didn't offer that program at the time). They won't last forever, I used those classes to reaffirm my own strength in my personal beliefs- I simply didn't talk about my personal beliefs.

3. Wear a symbol of your faith for comfort. I did and was able to get away with wearing pentacles, spirals etc., but I was a well-behaved student ;)
If you can't wear it visibly, wear it under your shirt.
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Doc

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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2017, 11:46:12 am »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187210
...as a teen under the pagan umbrella!

Full disclosure: I'm a junior at a high-stress, Catholic college prep. I'm not having a good experience, and this is generally for other people who are also not having a good experience. Good luck.


⁃Liturgies

If your school has weekly or monthly liturgies, you know how much of a pain they can be. The best advice I can give is to sit through them respectfully. They're annoying, but every so often, you *can* actually learn something. Which, yes. It's frustrating to no end. But you aren't obligated to even mouth along to the prayers, and unless your school is 100% baptized Catholic, you aren't obligated to take communion either. Focus on the things you *don't* have to do, rather than the things that are mandatory. It helps.

⁃Uniform and/or Dress Code

Yep, they're usually pretty sexist, not to mention generally uncomfortable and, if you're AFAB, designed to boil you alive during the warmer months. This is, once again, something you might feel obligated to rail against; I know I do. However, the best advice I can give you is to at least *try* to stay within the confines of the code. You'll be free of it sooner than you think, because guess what? Four years actually goes by really fast!

⁃"Respect" and Doing "Well"

The best advice I can give you is to make it as easy as possible for yourself to go to college, meaning that you might have to be a bit of a suck-up. Be genuine, but add a teaspoon of sugar. You'll get good recommendation letters, you might get extensions when other people don't (don't count on it but it's something that *could* happen), and you might make a few connections that'll help you keep your disciplinary record clear. The easier it is for you to get out of there, the better. The sooner you can get out of there, the better.

Therefore, it's a good idea to get the best grades you can manage (and still get 6-8 hours of sleep a night). If you get stuck with a shitty class, or you have to take religion courses, the best revenge truly is doing well in them. Why? It's saying, indirectly, that despite the fact that this is a shitty class with a horrible teacher, I excelled. Their incompetence does not affect me.

If you simply can't do that, it's okay. You're still worthy and valid, despite your what your grade is, because your grades reduce you to a set of numbers, and *that is not what you are.* My high school expects 4.2 GPAs and involvement in six different clubs and, in addition, sports and community service and campus ministry. Sure, some people can do that. But some people (me), for whatever reasons, just can't or won't be involved in so much. They don't always have straight A's, and that's okay. As a friend of mine says, "C's get degrees," and community college and a transfer is also an option. Just survive high school long enough to get the hell out of there.

Make sure you're sleeping at *least* 6 hours regularly and that you're hydrated and eating enough. Everybody does homework at lunch. It's okay.

⁃Religion Classes

Why an entire section for this? Because mandatory religion classes at Catholic school suck. They just do. No matter where you go, they're gonna suck. You might not hear a lot about Jesus (because some schools try to be inclusive??? And it doesn't work but they ??? still ??? do it?????) but you will hear so much about "the Catholic perspective" that your ears bleed. You will have to write papers about "the Catholic perspective" and give presentations about "the Catholic perspective" and you will be so inundated with it that sometimes you'll wake up in the middle of the night, the voice of your first religion teacher echoing in your head, saying "I don't want to hear *your* perspective, I want to hear the Catholic perspective."

Not like that's happened to me or anything. Snrk.

This is the one class I'm gonna say it's okay to bullshit in. As long as you turn in something complete, coherent, and at least sorta following the rubric, you'll be fine. Unless they're talking about Biblical history and context (which is actually interesting, and also something you can use to debate with in the future), feel free to zone out. It's a religion class, so make it look like you're taking notes and do some devotional writing, or work on spells, or print out papers on the uses of herbs and try to memorize them. Just don't fall asleep.

Just going from my experience, the teacher is going to talk about how it's important to build community (it is), and then go on to say that you're all a big family. It's not harmful to think that way, but if you're anything like me, you're gonna be rolling your eyes and drumming your fingers and waiting for the damn period to end so you don't have to deal with this anymore. Take a deep breath. Count down the minutes and try to focus on something else. Did you have something nice for breakfast? Are you in the middle of a good book? Did you draw something awesome today?

Focus on the good.

⁃End Notes (for now)

Luckily, you're not going to be there for as long as you think. It does seem like it'll be forever, but one day you're gonna wake up and you'll be three-quarters done with your junior year and you'll wonder where the hell the time went because you still feel about twelve. You won't be there for as long as you think.

Find a place to escape to, something to do. My refuge is TC, the band room, and the art classrooms. High school, again, is not forever, but when it seems like everything's going to crush you, find that (!healthy!) escape and be there for a while. Work and bullshitting Catholicism can wait.

Lastly:

You'll be okay. Things will work out and there *is* a light at the end of the tunnel. You'll be okay, I promise.

*

Anybody else have any tips?

 
Why would you go to a catholic high school if you are not catholic?


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Castus

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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2017, 12:39:26 pm »
Quote from: Doc;201616
Why would you go to a catholic high school if you are not catholic?


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Catholic schools, speaking very broadly, tend to offer an excellent education; and therefore attract students of all backgrounds.
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

“Believing in the Lord means you are connected to me no matter when you are poor, sick, or struggling in a relationship. I am always with you. I want you to believe that. The future is uncertain, and much suffering awaits. However, the mission of the believer is to live life doing their best, no matter what the circumstances.” — Ryuho Okawa

Sarah

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Re: How to Survive: Catholic (and high-stress) High School
« Reply #14 on: January 19, 2017, 12:59:07 pm »
Quote from: Doc;201616
Why would you go to a catholic high school if you are not catholic?


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People don'y usually choose where they go to school, their parents do it for them
Knowing when to use a shovel is what being a witch is all about. Nanny Ogg, Witches Abroad

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