What to expect in a high school?

I don't mind.

Oakland Tech.

haha I went to Skyline

Back when I was in HS, I mostly hung out with my friends from middle school.; a nice bunch of people i got along with. Sure the general population will be a bunch of people who are just there because their parents have no choice but to send them there, but if you stick to the AP classes (which I assume you to be doing), you should be able to avoid any of the rabble. You'll also be likely to be put in the general classes every now and then because you'll sometimes not be able to get all the classes you want without conflicts. High schools are generally very safe unless you start pomegranate with people, which I also assume you'll also not be doing. And also assuming you're taking Tech's magical academies, you'll practically be guaranteed to avoid the rabble rousers. Though I would encourage you to be friends with anyone and everyone because you don't ever want to start fights with anyone in school. That's why i was nice to everyone i met even if they were basically the equivalent of internet trolls. You never know when you'll need some back up.

Sadly most of the people who are the rabble rousers are black and latino/a. They can be pimentos or they can be some of the most fun people to be around. One of the best reasons to be able to go to school in Oakland is the sheer amount of diversity that are in its schools. I've met people from all the colors of the rainbow and they all impacted my life equally (my friends were mostly Asian). You meet some characters in Oakland, but I assume you know that because you went to middle school in Oakland. They are very much the same, except people are "maturing" and aren't as douchey as hormonal middle schoolers are. I must admit I did enjoy watching the fights every now and then. A nice break between classes. Mind your own business and never act like you're better than anyone else (like a lot of middle schoolers tend to think). You are all equals in that school until one of you decides to go off to college and the other decides to do nothing.


Now for work load, my AP classes were easier than anything i've ever done, but that's mainly because I was really really good at school in High school (I'm TERRIBLE in college ><"). Anything in the Oakland high schools will most likely not help you all that much in college, but if you start learning good study skills, some personal self-reliance, and learning to work with other people, you will be good to go for college. And by studying I mean actually studying your ass off reading and learning for 2 ish hours every night before your test. Not like me when I studied in the few minutes before the test was supposed to start. The workload should be challenging and if you don't feel like you're being challenged enough, then I would ask your teacher about what more you could do. If you had a few of my teachers, they wouldn't be able to do pomegranate because they were too busy attending to the rabble rousers and or were just bad teachers (I had one teacher that came in high every day, i swear to god. Also had another teacher who was chronically tardy every few days). But if you take AP classes, you should be good to go. I would avoid the regular classes as much as possible- the teachers are basically just babysitters there and don't really teach you anything. In those class, I basically wrote at a lower level than I feel I should have been writing and the teachers didn't give any feedback at all. But I also met some of the most motivated people I've ever met in that class.

I have no personal experience at Tech though. From what I've heard their school tends to separate the "smart" kids and the "not-so-smart" kids through their academy system. I haven't been in high school for almost 4 years now, so most of what i know can be useful, but outdated. All I've got are stories from my brother, who seems to show me that Oakland high schools are turning into complete pomegranateholes that don't promote the learning and gaining of knowledge to the students who want it, but attending to the people who don't want to go to school; who aren't motivated to learn. You just need to survive high school because after that, you'll likely forget any of the people you met there unless you were really close to them from before. I've met some of my best friends from high school and I met some of my favorite teachers ever. Enjoy your time there and take in the experience because this is the last 4 years to enjoy a period of exploring, goofing off, fun and play. They're in no way the best 4 years of your life, but they don't have to be the worst either. After high school, it's a fast 4 years in college where you have to worry about your grades, your repertoire, your field, and what you want to do with your life.