Written by Timothy Johnson

Follow Me on Twitter: @Timothy_OwlFeed

Instagram: @tiimmyj_115

Well, Owls, it is finally 2018! Wow, 2017 sure did fly by fast, didn’t it? My year was pretty average, and of course, I did hit a few bumps here and here. But in the end, I’m happy that I made it through the year, because I learned some very important advice, specifically what to do and not to do in life. I thought about this, and I have four main tips that could surely benefit a lot of people at the school. I have shared this tips here so you can all read them and have a great year, too!

Tip #1: Be careful with what friends you make. It is no doubt that these days, not all people are truthful and will stick by you. As an introvert, it is difficult for me to make new friends as I do not talk to a large amount of people. Since I do have a small circle of friends, losing one of those friends is pretty upsetting. It is worse when I lose friends due to them changing and not being who they said they were. People typically call these types of people “fake”.

Of course, having friends is special, and we all want people to talk to and hang out with. To put this simply, remember to watch who you choose to befriend. If somebody seems bad or appears to be hiding something fishy, chances are they may not be there for you! Remember to only make positive friends and be cautious if they suddenly change. Sadly that is life, and we can’t do anything but be careful.

Tip #2: Watch what you post or say on social media. We are now living in the age where we are very dependant on technology, and are always on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc, chatting with friends and posting our daily activities. The way I see it, social media isn’t going away anytime soon, so we might as well familiarize ourselves with the proper guidelines in order to stay safe online. In my opinion, the most important rule is to think about what you talk about. If you know that you might get into trouble or hurt somebody’s feelings for a certain post, then simply do not put it out there.

Tip #3: Copying off somebody’s work? Not okay! There will always be those students that may have an assignment that is long overdue, and may not have finished something for days, or even weeks and months depending on the teacher’s deadlines. A student that has given up may eventually turn around and mooch off of somebody else’s work to pass. I don’t want to call anybody out here, since I shamefully admit I have done this in the past. Just a friendly reminder that while it will of course, relieve students’ stress of finally completing missing assignments, they won’t have learned anything if they cheated!

Remember, teachers are always there for you, and you can talk to them if you need help! Plus, suppose the person you cheat off of doesn’t even have the right answers.. It’s ultimately better to go straight to the source for assistance. Don’t be shy, we all struggle now and then!

Tip #4: Never let anybody or anything bring you down! This is the one tip that I want to push the most. Not everybody will have a 100% perfect life, and we will all get into bad situations. However, the most important thing to remember is to stay positive and healthy. We can all succeed when we block out the negativity. For example, going back to my first tip about friends not always staying in your life, do not let that bring you down, especially if you fear losing friends like me. Just forget about those people, they are not worth your time! Instead, clear your mind about them and go do one of your favorite hobbies to remain happy. Listen to some music, exercise, draw.. do whatever will make you happy! Every single one of us has the potential to find and keep joy in our lives, even if we may have to dig deep sometimes.

And that was it: those were my basic tips to start you all on the path to a great and safe 2018. Sorry I might not have had a long and complex list, but I am hoping these few will be helpful anyway. If you want more advice from me, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. My Instagram name can be found at the top of the article if you would like to contact me, I’d be glad to help in any way that I could! Well, with that being said, I hope you all have a fantastic new year, everybody! And be sure to return to this site for more awesome stories soon!