Ask Athena

By Hazel Pany

   It’s the beginning of the school year, and with that there are always crucial questions that new students always ask themselves but never get answers to. Today, this article is going to answer a lot of questions that many students have had this year. If you want a non-biased opinion about your struggles, there will be a box in the auditorium to add your anonymous questions.

Who exactly is Athena?                    

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts who was  created in Zeus’s brain. Athens  was named after her and some stories she was in included Athena the Virgin, The Iliad, and The Odyssey.

““I shall always do what needs to be done.” Athena said. “Yet the question remains – will you?” 

  • Alexandra Bracken
  1.  How do I do my homework efficiently?

   Prioritizing harder homework during paideia is wise because you can ask for help. Then, when you get home, you will have a faster time doing all your easier homework. If it is harder for you to pay attention to homework like some, try playing calming music so that you can avoid your phone and other common distractions. If music distracts you as well, just focus on your work and then you can have more time to do whatever you want!

  1. How do I organize my binders?

This was the question I wanted to answer the most. I have struggled keeping my locker and binder organized but I have some ways to keep your stuff neat and organized. I asked five people what the hardest part of school was and two out of five people said keeping things organized was the hardest part of school. Some ways I keep my binder organized are having a separate folder just for homework. This keeps your binders more organized and neat than just stuffing all your homework into one random binder and calling it a day. Make sure you have separate binders for each class or at least morning and afternoon classes. If not, you lose track of all your stuff and it gets lost easier than only having a few items in a binder. If you don’t have many binders, using tabs is a great solution to this.

  1. How do I use paideia to my advantage?

Paideia is such an advantage and it can help so much with homework. I would choose a paideia that you can focus in and begin with the harder assignments. Doing this will make time spent on homework at home reduced. I do not like doing homework at home so I do my harder homework in paideia and so if I still have homework, it is easy to do at home. I also focus as much as I can and if I am confused, I ask the teacher or after I’m done with my whole assignment, I would review it and if I’m really struggling, I would compare answers with a friend. Do not just copy your friends’ work because you don’t really understand the topic and on quizzes or tests, that will shine through. 

  1. How do I make friends in school?

My best advice is to actually talk to people. If you sit in a corner awkwardly not talking to anyone, you will not make friends. As I always say, if you are confident, you are not faking your personality, you are amplifying your voice. This allows people to feel like they can talk to you other than you awkwardly sitting on the side. My goal for this year was to talk to more people, which allowed me to make more friends than I could possibly imagine last year. 

  1. How do I know when a friend is fake?

There are many reasons why you can tell when to not trust a friend. For example, a friend who makes everything about themselves especially if you are talking about your troubles. If they try to make you look bad, they probably are not a genuine friend. Most of the time, they are jealous. Sometimes, a person thinks you did something bad and holds a grudge against you, which they can take out on you in a variety of malicious ways. As my parents always say, “You may think you are the good person, the main character of the story, but in every other person’s mind, you are different. Good, bad, or neutral, you are different. A villain never sees themself as a villain.” So, try to think from their perspective. If, after considering things from their point of view, you feel that your friend is not a good influence, try to distance yourself from them and ask for help on how to handle your particular situation from a friend or teacher.

How do I ask for advice from you?

There are many ways to contact me! I have an advice email which will be at the bottom of this article. Soon, there will be an advice box in the auditorium around so keep an eye out! All questions sent via email and put in the box will remain anonymous.

Email:

askathenaa@gmail.com