read this! if there was one piece of reading i’d send back to my 9th grade self, it’d be “Escaping High School.”

from @Austin :

I would pay ungodly sums of money to be able to send this essay backwards in time to 15-year-old me.

Cheap, quick, healthy food: https://huel.com/

Use gel pens only. You probably write a lot, with a gel pen you don't have to press as hard as with an ordinary ballpoint pen, which turns out to be a big relief.

If your school has florescent lights and you are sensitive, I highly recommend getting red tinted or special glasses that can block the harmful/distracting rays from them. I got some yesterday and they are very helpful.

For food, you could look into prepared meals/meal kits that you can just microwave, I eat those sometimes.

Optimize Sleep

How long should you sleep?

• Sleep for 7–9 hours.

• Sleep in intervals of 90.

• Sleep without an alarm if possible.

Consistent sleep and wake time.

• Sleep at the same time each night. (This informs your body when to release melatonin.)

• Wake up at the same time each night. (This informs your body when to release cortisol.)

Light

• Windows block sunlight.

• Get sunlight when you wake up. (Small amounts of sunlight work. When sunlight enters your retinas, your body releases cortisol and decreases melatonin.)

• Go outside an hour before the sun sets for 10–30 minutes. This will increase melatonin.

• Avoid artificial light 1–2 hours before you sleep.

• You’re more sensitive to overhead lights.

Exercise

• Endorphins cause you to be more awake.

• Morning exercise will cause you to be more awake due to an increase in endorphins, cortisol, and epinephrine. If you consistently do this your body will start expecting the morning exercise causing you to be more awake after waking up.

• Exercising anytime during the day increases deep sleep.

Caffeine

• Avoid caffeine intake 8–12 hours before you sleep.

Temperature

• For your body to fall asleep, your temperature must drop 1–2 degrees.

• Lowering your room's temperature before you sleep causes you to get higher quality sleep and sleep faster. Some ways you can do this are by using a fan, opening a window, or lowering the temperature of a thermostat.

Learn more here: [Sleep Toolkit](https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/sleep-toolkit-tools-for-optimizing-sleep-and-sleep-wake-timing)

If you're in high school or college, try to get a scholarship to study abroad. It's a free vacation and you get school credits! Talk to your consular first though and make sure the credits will get transferred once you return home.

Depending on your district, you can graduate significantly earlier than 4 years if you have the right credits. I only did one third of my senior year. Didn’t seem to be an issue for college (your mileage may vary).