Dear Alex

Welcome to the 'Dear Alex' column. Dear Alex is written by an anonymous Gateway student who loves to offer supportive and creative solutions to all of life's ups and downs. Do you have a question for Alex? If so send your question to Dear Alex here. We give you the "Gateway Guarantee" that your question will always remain anonymous.

Dear Alex,

Whenever I have a test, I panic and rush through it which causes me to fail. Do you know how I can be calm when taking a test?

Signed,

In a Test Mess

Dear In A Test Mess,

First of all I would suggest that you get a good night sleep before a test. When you don't get enough sleep your brain can't rest and it doesn't function as well, which makes it hard to focus. I also recommend you study. Studying is good to do before a test because it makes you feel less stressed out about what the test is asking you to do. If you don't study you won't know the material and it will make even starting the test hard to accomplish. Even though it may sound harder than it is, relax and look over the test before you start. Getting familiar with the material is a good way to start a big test. Finally, stopping for a second to take a deep breath can ease your mind and get you ready to start your test!

Good luck,

Alex

Dear Alex,

I am feeling really stressed about making my class deadlines because of my after school activities. What should I do?

Signed,

Stressed Out and Not a Break In Sight

Dear Stressed Out and Not a Break In Sight,

If you are feeling stressed out about school deadlines you can set up a schedule for yourself. If you have time, you can work on things that are due later in the week so you are not overwhelmed by doing homework every night after your activities. It is very helpful to create an organized schedule that informs you of your assignments and the days you have after school activities. With this schedule you can hopefully plan on nights you need to do more or less homework in relation to your after school activities.

Best wishes,

Alex

Dear Alex,

I have been texting with a boy at school who is a very good friend of mine. Now I am starting to have a huge crush on my friend but I don't know how to tell him and I don't want to ruin our friendship. What should I do?

Signed,

Heart In My Hands

Dear Heart in Hands,

You don’t want to make it awkward with your friend so I advise that you first try and put yourself in their shoes and don't make a big deal of your crush around your group of friends. Now, if you try to tell your crush how you feel and it doesn’t go well, you should accept that he doesn't feel the same and try and go back to just being friends. It may seem scary to tell your crush how you feel, but you'll never know how they feel back if you don’t tell him your feelings first.

Put that heart back in your chest!

Sincerely,

Alex