Every high school student has experienced the infamous ‘Day 1’ of advisory. You walk into the room, making futile attempts at small talk with the people you will be required to see every Tuesday and Thursday until the end of your high school career.  

Some of us are lucky; we were introduced to the system before high school, and enter with friends fresh from middle school years. However, for those of us who are new to Singapore American School, it can be difficult—even frightening—to fathom the thought of the seemingly forced ‘bonding’ experience that advisory promises.  

I was terrified.  

As a new student, the first few weeks of school made me feel quite uncomfortable; my awkwardness was emphasized, my insecurities were displayed, and it seemed to be that attending advisory only confirmed my worries of how out of place I felt among my classmates. 

I was fortunate in that advisory became somewhat of a constant in my life, and for many SAS students, assurances like these come far and few between. 

I will be honest. Advisory is not necessarily my most favorite part of the week, and I have a feeling that other students may agree. This is not to say that I don’t enjoy seeing some of my fellow classmates struggle to perfect their ‘pigeon’ pose during advisory yoga mornings, nor that I would ever pass up an opportunity to cook somewhat questionable pancakes with my favorite Chemistry teacher. These mornings, whether I realized at first glance or not, taught me about myself and who I am - or will choose to be. 

I look back on the past year of advisory fondly, remembering the colorful, ludicrous mess of both memories and learning experiences that still make themselves relevant in my life today.  

      
Looking back, my advisory has taught me that: 

1. Making a conscious effort to get to know your peers can influence how you experience advisory as a whole.
    
2. Your advisor can absolutely change the atmosphere of the environment; students can come and go, but your advisor is a key person to develop and maintain a relationship with.
    
3. Providing support does not always mean offering advice. Sometimes, it is as simple as listening.
    
4. At times, the loss of flex was damaging for both myself and others. It is a period of time that can be used for last-minute edits to assignments or get in an extra run-through of a presentation due that day. 
    
5. Advisory has the potential to develop into something so much more than watching a video together or having polite, formal discussions about your plans for the week; you can talk with others about how their experiences compare to yours, sometimes using a required assignment as a starting point for these conversations. 
    
6. I recognized a change in my personal mental health. Advisory at 8:00 a.m. can give you an extra jumpstart for your day, requiring you to be ‘on’ and alert before beginning your other classes later in the day. 
    
7. Sometimes your opinion does not need to be heard during in-class discussions.
    
8. You may not necessarily meet your closest friends in advisory, but it is important to begin with (and maintain) a growth mindset as far as making friends and developing relationships. 
    
9. Not everyone is always at their best the first time you meet them. Judging people too quickly can lead to a distorted image of what this person may actually be like, preventing yourself from forming a bond with them.
    
10. I can confirm wholeheartedly that advisory has the potential to improve your environment at school, if only some time and effort is put into making it the best experience possible for yourself.  
     
11. In the first few months of advisory last year, I saw the time allotted each Tuesday and Thursday as an obstacle I needed to endure on the way to ‘properly’ beginning my day. This mindset was toxic, and did nothing to improve my personal advisory experience. 

I soon learned, however, that advisory taught (whether intentionally or not) students much more than what was in the occasional lesson plan. Advisory taught me tolerance, emotional management, and collaborative skills. It was a great year—one I hope will serve as a starting point for more enlightening experiences in the years to come.