Tap, tap, tap. The pencil in your hand keeps hitting the desk. Your eyes wander around the room. You look at the clock. Tick, tick, tick. You look at your classmates. Scribble, scribble, scribble. They write on the paper in front of them. You look down at your paper. It is a test and you don’t remember anything you studied.

Being nervous about a test is normal, and it is something many people experience. There are a couple of things you can do to prevent test anxiety, and make your testing experience better.

Plan Ahead
First, make sure you mark the test date on your calendar or agenda. Knowing when the test is will give you enough time to prepare, prioritize your tasks, and manage your time. This way you do not need to study everything last minute the night before. Although cramming does seem to work, it does not benefit you. It may get you through the test and you might even make an A on it. However, it will hurt you in the future. Once the test is over, you will not remember anything at all, so when those midterms and finals come around you will have to study all the material over again.

Take Notes
A week is a reasonable time to begin studying for a test. Depending on how much material you have to study, you might want to start earlier. Gather everything that you need to study: your books, handouts and notes. Anything is fair game, even if it seems insignificant. As a suggestion, take notes during class, because you will not remember everything. Do not only take notes of what the teacher writes on the board or what is on the power point, but also write down what the teacher says. Remember, power points are merely used as a teaching supplement, and your teacher may say something important that is not on a slide.

Don’t Get Distracted
After you have everything you need to study, find a quite place with minimal distractions. For example, you may want to go to the library or study in your room. If you do study in your room, do not try to multitask with the TV turned on or with the computer on. Studying in between commercials will not help, and it will take you longer to study. Something else to keep in mind is that, even though your bed may be comfortable, it is easy to fall asleep on it. Make sure you are sitting on a chair at a desk.

Know What Works Best for You
Once you have chosen your study place, go through all the testing material. Read over all the information at least twice and highlight what you think is important. Another helpful tip is to highlight important information during class; this will help you reduce your study time. Know what kind of learner you are. For those that are auditory learners, say the information out loud and repeat it until you can say it with your eyes closed.  For those that are visual learners, color coding your notes or re-writing them will help you memorize the information.

Take Breaks
Sitting still and studying in a quiet place is hard, so take breaks. Just make sure that the five minute break you give yourself does not turn into an hour break on Facebook.  Set reasonable study times and breaks. During your study time, study, study and study. Do some hard-core studying and do not let yourself get distracted. The new e-mail you receive will still be there when you are done studying. Remember that the less time you spend studying, the more time you will have to do other things you enjoy.

Take Care of Yourself
The night before the test, make sure you get plenty of rest. It may not seem important, but when you are taking the test and the classroom is quiet, you can get sleepy and may want to close your eyes. Closing your eyes to rest them can lead you to fall asleep. Make sure you eat before the test. It may seem insignificant, but when your stomach begins to growl in class, you will be looking around the class to see if anyone heard you instead of concentrating on your test.

Yes, tests are the worst. As you refine your study techniques, you will be able to go to your class feeling confident and prepared.

By Elizabeth Blancas

“Those sweaters make her look like a homeschooler.”

To others, this snide comment taken from the popular FOX show Glee is just one of many quick, witty jibes that make the show so entertaining. But to me, watching from my living room with homework piled on my lap, it was just another reason I valued my decision to keep my past quiet. A year ago, the composition book I balanced on my knees would’ve stayed safely away in our home classroom, waiting patiently for tomorrow to come, when I would sit at my kitchen table to put more words between its pages. Unlike Quinn, Finn and Puck, I had never spent more than a single, tortured week at any kind of “normal” school, choosing instead to remain at home to self-study, thus dubbing myself a homeschooler and donning the stereotypes that came along with the title, as I painfully learned once more, watching the light-hearted sitcom. Apparently now the TV had gone from telling me how to be to explaining what I had been since first grade. So sorry, Mr. Schu, but in all my homeschooling, I never once wore a sweater like Rachel’s.

Looking back on the terrifying, nervous weeks before my first day of school, which came around high school, I had that feeling that I would be made fun of, for my squeaky-clean new-student issues, my looks, weight, and the fact that, under pressure, I couldn’t tell my left from my right. I was used to grappling with teenage issues, but now, magnified by my pure aloneness, they threatened to strip me of every bit of confidence I’d hoarded. However, while my doubts circled around Me, the brain-dead-for-math girl or the never-had-a-boyfriend Me, not one of my doubts was about Me, the homeschooler. It was a matter of pride to me that I was responsible for my own schooling. People had always been just curious or just interested, never name-calling or condescending. Mostly their biggest interest was knowing if I got to stay in my PJs all day. No, Iíd answer for what felt like (and probably was) the fortieth time, My mother would kill me.

On that fateful first day of school, nothing had changed in my mind. Well, a lot had changed, starting with my name being wrong on the rosters and ending about six months later, but Homeschooled Me was still firmly in charge upstairs. As my homeroom teacher circled the classroom, collecting names, nicknames, and actual pronunciation of names, along with past schools and favorite ice cream flavors, I was more occupied choosing Ben or Jerry than thinking about my one-and-only school, which, if you looked at my registration card, matched my address. When my turn finally came, though, my mouth named the high school closest to my house, which Iíd set foot in maybe twice in my sixteen years of living across the street from it.

I sat there, frozen, clueless to what I’d gotten myself into, as I tried to gage if anyone had caught my bluff. Thankfully, it was my lucky day, because of all the heads looking my way, none of those heads had sat through algebra at my “old school.” The teacher moved on and conversation around me slowed, but my heartbeat didn’t.

It’s a known fact that no one remembers anything from first period, no matter what day of the year it is. It’s a black hole in the class schedule, so I answered the “What school were you at” question many more times. While I shrugged my way through fake class schedules and common friends I’d never seen before in my life, I’d pick up forgettable, nothing-comments about my true old school. My classmates flung around homeschooler slights the way they did paint in the art room, or week-old cauliflower in the cafeteria. Even as my head went down when I heard these, my ears went up, trying to find something that would prove I would still be accepted if I told my truth. I never did, but managed to block them out and get on with my day, but hearing myself bashed around by people I didn’t know or care to know was different when it came from one of my closest friends. As I sat there, silently listening to him celebrating a victory over a homeschooled team, a part of me wished I couldn’t hear him. “Les ganaron a homeschoolers, guey; no sean aprovechados,” he gloated over the edge of his graphing calculator, which roughly translated (we all know there’s really no word for guey) means, “You beat the homeschoolers, man; don’t take advantage of them.”

As quickly as the words- to him innocent- left his mouth, my best friend, sitting a foot away from me at our table in geometry, toppled me from a confident, capable sweet-sixteen-year-old girl to a stumbling, stuttering, socially-useless, ivory tower castaway, who wasn’t even competition, much less a threat, transformed by a single, off-hand jab. Never mind that my all-homeschooled, junior varsity volleyball team had taken second place at regionals, while my varsity homegirls snagged the title. Never mind that I made the top grades in my class and sat at the so-called “Popular Girls” table at lunch, or that my teachers were putty in my hands, the principal chose me for everything, and more than a couple boys were drooling over me, all while I held down positions in Student Council and the robotics team. Never mind that the same friend who said I wasn’t worth beating, copied off me every day in geometry, and as soon as he was finished telling his friends to play nice with the homeschoolers, leaned over and asked for my help.

I’m saying absolutely none of this to brag, and for the record, the “Popular Girls” table evolved from the girls who were first and foremost my friends and former Lunch Loners, and I sometimes hated being nominated for everything, while the only boy I agreed to date threw me down the drain. I only want to explain how heart-broken I was when my same homeroom teacher, along with my most beloved teacher, reacted to my secret I confided in them with, ‘Well, this is good for your social skills, then.” Once more, I’d been reduced to nothing more than the same stereotype I’d fought so tirelessly against. Did it count for nothing that I’d been the most-involved, hardest-working student in their classes, that I’d come early and stayed late, and still had friends waiting for me on the way out? That a boy was telling the whole school how crazy he was about me? That I’d won not just the “nerd” awards, but the “cheerleader” awards too, and that the permanently socially-handicapped, sweater-wearing homeschooler was also a part of the awarded Best Friends?

Sometimes it makes me wonder whether I’ll ever be able to say I was, and in my heart still am, a homeschooler, without someone with good intentions back-handedly shredding my life’s choices with something as simple as, “You’ve adjusted so well,” without it ever occurring to them that adjusting was not what I needed. My two teachers and friends, with their common interests of changing me into school-system-bound material, and having my report cards from pre-K to senior year tucked under my arm, are still some of the most-loved people in my life. What they said, though, while it probably left them as soon as their mouths finished shaping the last sound, will undoubtedly stick with me for the rest of my lie. I mean, life.

By Alisson

High school is an important time for your educational career. These four years are when you meet friends that can either help you succeed or bring you down. During this time, you may want to only spend time with your friends and forget about school, but high school is not the time to do that. These four years should be used to learn as much as you can, get involved in school and find your interest in life. These Latinitas are all seniors and we have come up with eight tips that will help you out in high school, and we will tell you the experience that lead to these discoveries.

1. Focus on School:
There is no better piece of advice than this. School is very important in your life and for your future. Find out how these girls realized focusing on school is the best policy while in high school.

“Focus on school – really. There will be plenty of distractions, but do your best to resist. High school is extremely important in your life as it will determine what university you attend, and that in turn determines what job you will obtain. Are a couple nights of partying and drinking really worth giving up all that?” ~ Martha, 17

“Keep all your notes, because in your upper classes you may be taking part 2 of certain subjects and may need them. Also, when picking your classes for a semester keep in mind that each of these classes is going to have tests and assignments which may be demanding. Don’t over-work yourself.”~ Serita, 17

“The only thing I wish I would have done is pass my French class that’s the only credit I’m missing right now and it affecting my credits. I wouldn’t recommend to slack it in high school because it all comes back you’re senior year. Is to pass all your classes and do your best.”~ Veronica, 18

2. Keep Up Your GPA:
Grades are important, but also remember to learn something in school and not just get the grade. These girls will tell you everything you need to know about GPA and high school.

“Don’t take your GPA and grades too seriously. If you focus on learning, and work hard at doing your best, you will probably do just fine anyway.”~ Zyanya, 17

“I recommend focusing on your studies. Your freshmen, sophomore year are the best GPA booster.”~ Sara, 17

“Yes, I would have liked to know that my grades that I had as a freshman would affect my GPA later on. “ ~ Guadalupe, 17

3. Do Not Procrastinate:
Procrastination can add stress to your daily life and if you don’t know how to handle it, it can lead to disasters. These girls tell you what they learned the hard way.

“Don’t procrastinate!!! It’s the worst thing you can do; trust me. Sooner or later it all catches up to you to bite you in the rear.” ~ Martha

“DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!!! It does a lot more harm than good; you will fall so far behind you feel as though you are drowning. Everyone will do it once but when you do, make sure it is only a little assignment you can do quickly. Also, is you take five classes in a semester, take the summer off, do not come back to get more “fast” credits.”~ Serita

4. Ask for Help:
Asking for help may or may not be easy for you, but if you need the help trust me… ask for it! I tell you about my experience in school because I did not ask for help when I needed to.

“I wish I had asked for help in the difficult classes. Because of the fact that I didn’t ask for help or seek tutoring I fell below my standards. I unfortunately had to retake that class and learned the hard way that I needed to ask for help and there is nothing wrong with that.” ~ Cassie, 18

5. Seek to Understand:
It is important to understand yourself, people, and ideas in high school before judging them and ruling them out of your life.
“I only wished I would have searched for happiness rather than popularity a lot sooner.” ~ Sara

“Yes, I’m glad I gave my biggest enemy a chance because now she is my best friend. Never give up on something you don’t understand because you will regret it later in life.” ~ Guadalupe

6. Join Clubs & Sports:
Sports and clubs are not for everyone, but read this before you rule them out of your high school experience.

“The only thing I wish I had done is apply to the National Honor Society chapter at my high school in my sophomore year like I was supposed to!” ~ Zyanya

“I wish I had joined any sports.” ~ Guadalupe

“I am glad I joined clubs and was active in school. I meat a lot of new people that later on became my friends I realized what my career choice is going to be, I also discovered my likes/strengths and dislikes/weaknesses.” ~ Cassie

7. Have a Plan:
I know you may think you have all the time in the world to decide where you’re going in life or what you want to do. But, seriously speaking high school is going to be the fastest four years of your life so have a plan!

“Have a plan. It sounds weird, but do it. By having a plan of action or a list of goals, you know what you have to do to get your plan done or to get your goal accomplished. “ ~ Cassie

By Cassie Barraza

Most college bound students hear about college through teachers, counselors or parents. They usually say things like, “You have to study very hard; no one is going to remind you about an exam,” or “You pay a lot of money for a class, so you better go,” or the favorite, “They’re not going to baby you in college.” All of these comments are absolutely true, but, there’s a lot more you should know about college and how to get through that scary first week.

Latinitas interviewed three successful students from the University of Texas at Austin to get their advice on transitioning from high school to college life.

JOIN AN ORGANIZATION
“I cried when my sister dropped me off in Austin,” says Chloe Chavez, a marketing student. “I was a little sad about leaving my family, but I knew coming to college was something important that I had to do.”

Chavez says she was too shy and instead of making friends in the cafeteria, she would take her food back to her dorm and eat all by herself.

Joining an organization is a good way to meet people, Chavez explains. “It becomes your home away from home,” she says. “You should be involved in the organization you join, but make sure it does not get in the way of your studies.”

Marketing student Elizabeth Carrillo suggests getting involved in an organization that will benefit you. There are many community service, professional, social and academic organizations that will incorporate your interests and career ambitions.

“Employers do not want to see that you came to college to just make a grade-point average—they want to see that you were involved, well rounded,” says Carrillo.

STEP OUT OF YOUR BOUNDARIES
Carrillo admits that she felt out of place during her first week of school.

“I was culture shocked because I had come from a San Antonio high school where the majority of students were Latino,” says Carrillo.

Also, Carrillo’s roommate in the dorms was of Indian descent—a culture that she knew nothing about.

“To get to know each others’ cultures, she would talk about what Indian people eat and what they do, and I would tell her about what Mexican people eat and what we do,” Carrillo explains.

SOCIALIZE
According to Carrillo, it helps if you know other students from your high school that are attending the same college because it helps you feel less homesick. However, you should not isolate yourself by sticking with the same group. “There are many people that have a lot to offer you, and you have a lot to offer them,” Carrillo added.

“It’s important to socialize and talk to several different people because you will feel lonely and get homesick,” says Sonia Lopez, a Mexican American studies and political communications student.

START A ROUTINE
Lopez says the first week will go by very fast. She adds that getting into a routine will help you adapt to college life better. Make sure to set time slots for studying, working, socializing and going back home.

“I went home every third week—so I didn’t have time to spend with my new friends,” Lopez remembers. “So the next semester I stopped going home as much and I started enjoying college a lot more. I got to meet more new people and I got to know the college better.”

PREPARE
“The first day of classes I left my dorm like two hours early because I didn’t know how long the shuttle would take,” Lopez says. “I ended up getting to class super early, and I had to sit outside the class for almost two hours!”

If you can, try to locate the buildings your classes will be in the day before classes start, says Lopez. She added that people should take their time when trying to find buildings—they’ll be able to get to know the university a little better.

Lopez reminds that it’s definitely important for college students to socialize and hang out, but you have to know how to manage your time. It’s really not a big deal managing your schoolwork and fun, she says.

“Many third- and fourth-year college students will tell you that college is not just about academics.” Lopez says. “College is about finding your identity—your cultural identity, your relationship identity and your familial identity. College is a place where you discover who you really are.”

By Stephanie Sanchez