When Ryan started secondary school three years ago, it took him some time to settle in. Here, Ryan talks about what he would do differently and how this would have changed his experience, if he had the chance to do it again. He also offers advice for students who are about to make the move to secondary school.
A student's advice for their younger self:
Ryan: I would’ve definitely needed to have just been told that everything would have been okay and just… it’s going to work out okay in the end.
If I were to go back, I would definitely be more open about everything, cos I was quite introverted – I would only really kind of stay by myself, I wouldn’t talk to anyone but if I was able to be fine at the start I would probably have a lot more friends than I have today. Put yourself in difficult social situations, so you’re able to express yourself more as a person, as this will just build up your self-confidence.
In those first few weeks, I was definitely a bit awkward, I wouldn’t put my hand up in class, I wouldn’t have answered the teacher if he asked me a question, I would have just kept to myself and just got along with class and just focused on work.
Once you put your hand up that confidence in yourself will start to grow and you’ll be able to answer more and more questions in class.
If there’s something difficult in school, do it! Put yourself into that tough situation and you’ll learn from it and that’ll prepare you for the future.
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