Peer pressure has some negative aspects, but overall your friends can exert some positive influence over you by holding you accountable for what you hope to achieve. For those times when you are sitting in the lunch room between classes, at a cafe on the weekend or on the sideline watching the game, your friends can help you to have a reflective conversation that helps you to think out loud, consider some new ideas, and decide how to reorient back towards your goals.
The word is accountability: Are you following through on your commitments? Are you staying true to the plan? Are you delaying gratification enough to realize success? Are you being healthy with all of your decisions?
Ideally, the friend you talk to about coursework troubles, issues with grades, struggles at home or with classmates, will be someone removed from it all. You want to consult a friend who can be objective and see a problem from all sides. Also, it's best to have a friend who will give you a blunt opinion on what they see as the root of the issue rather than restrain themselves, concerned they may damage the friendship. That's why you need a strong relationship with perhaps someone that's known you a long time. This could be a Skype friend, someone you're chatting with online from your home country or from your last school, or maybe it's a brother or sister.
Questions to Ask Your Friends
Academic
How are your classes going? What's led to your struggles? What are you going to do about it?
Are you interested in what you're learning? How can you get more involved? Have you shared any of your own ideas?
Do you see any way to improve? What does your teacher say about it? Have you taken their advice?
Are you finding it hard to keep up? Have you been using a calendar? Do you try to do a little bit every night?
How much support are you getting? Who do you work with? What advice are they giving you?
Social/Emotional
Have you been getting out with friends at all? How often do you talk to them about something other than school?
Are you checking in with your parents? Do they understand the pressure you're feeling?
Can you see the finish line yet? Do you think you can maintain your effort until the end of May?Â
Are you using the school breaks to relax at all? Have you gotten out of your house... out of the city...?
Have you unplugged for an extended period of time recently? Are you answering email, posts, messages, etc. at all hours of the day?
Physical
Are you exercising at all? How often do you walk... swim... run... bike...?
Is your energy level good? Are you drinking too much tea... coffee... energy drinks...?
Can you do work at home? Do you feel productive there? Is it set up so you have everything you need?
How much sleep are you getting? When do you feel most ready to get to bed? Are you taking any naps? Do you stay up really late on weekends?
Do you have any activities where you just don't have to think at all? Do you play with your little sister/brother... dog/cat...?