I’m sure this has been drilled into every freshman’s head already, but high school is a big step up from eighth grade: if you don’t think the stairs in Shah are tall now, wait until you’ve sprinted there from Dobbins for the nth time. So here are some tips that I hope will help you survive at least some of your freshman classes, from one ex-middle schooler to another.

English 1: Study of Literary Genres

Yeah, I know “The Odyssey” sometimes seems like the unfunny punchline to a joke about what you get when you cross an obscure Shakespeare play with a poem so long it has chapters. (You’ll be reading an actual Shakespeare play in English 1, too, so don’t get your hopes up about that first one.)

But do yourself a favor and toss the time-honored technique of skimming the reading, or the SparkNotes, in the last 30 seconds of passing period right before your class.

If you actually do the reading, you’ll pick up the details you need to know for reading quizzes, and when it’s time to write the all-important essay, you won’t be wondering whether it was Alcinous or Antinous who did that thing with the guy in chapter nine.

Speaking of essays, get used to them, since you’ll be writing for your next four years here. Welcome to high school English club; the first rule is not to talk about high school English club.

If you guessed that the second rule is to understand that every teacher has slightly different expectations for an essay and it’s important to learn where your first papers fall short, you’re right on the money. If not, well, now’s as good a time as ever to start learning from your mistakes.

World History 1

You know that huge textbook you bought for this class? You’ll be reading from that.

But if you try to get away with not doing the reading, you’ll be lost during class, and if that class is in Shah in the afternoon, your only alternative to paying attention is enjoying the aromatic combination of slowly frying pine needles and freeway exhaust.

Plus, most of the tests—including the finals—are reading-based. Don’t not do the reading. (Are you sensing a theme here?)

And if you’re not planning to take AP European History next year, you’ll be taking another world history course. Pro tip: topics overlap between World History 1 and World History 2.

If you forget to read the homework, because we know by now that you’d never ignore it on purpose, you can find copies of the textbook in the library.

More importantly, whether you pronounce Chicago with a hard “ch” or you’ve already accepted the love of Illinois into your heart and soul, your future self will thank you if you use World History 1 as an opportunity to develop your Chicago style skills.

You’ll be required to take history courses in your sophomore and junior years, so practice before you get thrown headfirst into the depths of chick-ago. Shy-cage-o?

Physics

Luckily, you won’t have to read very much in physics. But at the same time, the assessments test your knowledge of how to solve problems more than just rote recall. More than 99 percent of sophomores recommend practicing problems over memorizing facts when studying for a physics test, according to a recent survey of myself.

The bottom line: pay attention in class and go to extra help so you fully understand the concepts, and remember to keep track of the actual bottom line during projectile motion problems.

After all, if you don’t get how to solve those, you’ll have trouble with other problems that involve projectile motion concepts, since—spoiler alert—the units in physics build on one another.

Understanding freshman physics will also help you in later science and math courses, especially if you take another physics course.

And don’t forget that an understanding of concepts comes with an understanding of basic facts. Whether you have to come up with a random mnemonic or must wave your hands obliquely on test day to remember the difference between an ammeter and a voltmeter, make sure you do. (Ammeters are connected in parallel, voltmeters in series: VSAP, like the sound a battery makes when you accidentally connect the wrong wire trying to light bulb D. Or maybe that was just me.)

In any case, have fun! And remember: 100 percent of sophomores want you to do well and get enough sleep this year. (Yeah, I polled myself for that one, too.)

This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on Aug 26, 2016.