X, Y, and Z are three MCSM students who use this space to offer solutions to common problems all high school students face. They welcome anonymous questions from fellow classmates on health, academics, the college process, or how to keep family, friends, work, and school from driving you crazy. Submit your questions—with or without your real name—either on paper (dropped into the “Ask XYZ” Questions Jar in the Writing Center) or via email sent to MCSMrampage@gmail.com.
Remember: we are here to help you!!!!
Q. Do you think MCSM students are too academically competitive? Is competition labeled as a positive factor in school?
X Responds: YES! Well I mean… I don’t really know everyone in the school but I think most students are academically competitive. There’s nothing bad about being academically competitive. It’s a nice way to boost your self esteem and it’s just a normal thing that happens around and in school. Competition is something that comes along the way as we grow up.
But at MCSM in particular, I believe most students strive to be the best, and they try to overwork themselves. Students at school do this to have status, to be someone. They think taking a lot of AP and Honor classes will make them be on top, outranking all the other students—and that it would “look good on your transcript.” That’s just the typical thinking of an MCSM student, I believe.
Competition could be labeled as both a positive and negative factor in school. The positive being that you become motivated and you want to challenge your limits. You discover new things about yourself along the way as you become competitive. The negative being that as you challenge your limits, you’ll go overboard without even realizing it, and then you’ll fall. You’ll fall, and then you will doubt yourself along the way as you try to get back up. Competitiveness involves tons of hard and sweaty work. It’s difficult trying to be #1 or even managing to be at the top. But maybe one day you’ll realize that competition isn’t what you really need after all. If you try your best and figure out what’s best for you, then you’ve already made it to the top.
Q: I’ve just broken up with my significant other. Can you tell me how to get over loving a person?
Y replies: I’m sorry you just suffered a breakup. It sounds like you might need help from Y’s Guide to Getting Over a Guy in 10 Days.
High school is a roller coaster, with an unpredictable course of events that we sometimes wish never occurred. Our young minds are naive to the thought of breakups. We believe things can last for forever, but in reality nothing can. Getting over someone isn’t easy, it takes time and patience, especially if you deeply cared for that person.
Now grab some tea,, some coffee, a bowl of ice cream, or your favorite snack and read on. Hopefully by the end of this your road to a new romantic destination will be a bit clearer.
Day One: Today you need to erase them from your life. This means that pictures, clothing, anything that reminds you of them has to go. This is more like a cleanse.
Day Two: Reduce your use of the internet and unfriend them on social media. I know this will be hard, but the sooner you do it the sooner you will be able to move on.
(I know you’ll want to stalk their social media, day in and day out, to see if they’ve moved on already. Trust me, even if it doesn’t look like it, they’re more broken than you are. But this will make it more complicated for you, because you can not let your life revolve around theirs.)
Day Three: Make a list of everything that you couldn’t do while you were in a relationship, and once you’ve completed it, do everything on that list.
Day Four: Remember YOU HAD A LIFE ONCE. You may think that you don’t know what to do, that there isn’t anything to do now that you are single. Little did you know, there’s a million things to do, go out, be free, get that red dress from the back of your closet and go dancing. Make them remember what they’re missing out on.
Day Five: Alright now, let’s take this day to relax, grab some ice cream, some Doritos, oooooh, even some Doritos in ice cream, I won’t judge. Also grab 5 movies (but no romance movies!). I recommend something like Mulan, Hidden Figures, Legally Blond, or Mona Lisa Smile. All are empowering movies led by women. This will remind you of your worth and how powerful us women can be.
Day Six: By now I hope you realized you do not need a guide to get over a person. Everyone works differently and only time will tell what the future holds. I hate to tell you this but sometimes it’ll take years to get over someone…other times it’ll take a week, even a day, but this is not something to be rushed. All I can really tell you is that you are intelligent, you are strong, and you are a force to be reckoned with. Don’t lose sight of your worth, because everything happens for a reason. This was just a small bump on your road to happiness.
Love, Y
Q: Should I ask this girl out? I don’t think she likes me, but I just kinda want to get over it.
Z. Replies: Ahhhh young love! You ask what you should do about this female that you admire, I say you should just do it. Look I know it may sound crazy but just listen. Telling her how you feel won’t kill you. If you’re afraid of it ruining a friendship, I don’t think it will, even if the same feeling aren’t felt, I doubt that your “friend” will avoid you totally. If that happens they’re not a real friend. If you wanna ask this girl out you should add some flair to it like, taking her somewhere you know she loves or buying her something you know that she really likes. It’s best to feel out the situation and see if there’s any possibility that she might feel the same way about you. If you don’t know, I’d still say go for it! This is a big risk, but what’s life without any risks? Just be yourself, be confident, and have fun. If it doesn’t work out, maybe she wasn’t the one, and hey, there’s plenty of fish in the sea.
Z , Out!!!