The stereotype is age-old, yet it’s one that hardly anyone can deny.

High school sucks.

But… it’s supposed to suck, right? Look around. Cliques are commonplace. Verbal (or digital) fights aren’t unexpected or taboo, but deemed as inevitable as the tides. Tests of masculinity and proving oneself pushes boys to the point of exhaustion while girls openly judge and critique each other, despite crying themselves to sleep over other girls doing the exact same to them on a daily basis.

Are you shocked? Horrified? No, probably not, but why not? When did we all accept high school as “kill or be killed” territory?

Yeah, high school sucks, but let’s be honest, we’re the ones who make it so horrible. Secondary education on its own isn’t an awful experience. It’s the negativity we encounter every weekday from 7 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. It’s that feeling of unknown and uneasiness, the alienation when the looks on your classmates’ faces aren’t ones of acceptance, but of condemnation.

Sure, go ahead and blame how much you hate school on the hours, the assignments, the food. Adolescents in less industrialized nations would do anything for the annoyances we’re given on a silver platter day after day. Who are we to complain about opportunity?

It’s not that high school sucks, per se. It’s merely an inescapable void of negativity with each of us to blame for each other’s wide swath of social anxiety and lack of confidence. Isn’t that rad?

However, this dilemma is one with a silver lining: negativity is fixable.

If we spent nearly as much time building people up as we spent tearing them down, the high school experience would improve drastically. Luckily, positivity is not rocket science. But for those of you who are a little bit sunshine-and-happiness-challenged or if you want to brush up on tips for being a decent human being, I’ve compiled a handy list.

• Stop complaining all the time. It’s OK to ask for help or to vent from people, but make sure if you’re treating your best friend as a therapist, you’re asking them about their day too.
• Do something nice for your teachers. It can be as simple as thanking them or asking about their weekend. They’re people too. Shockingly, they too appreciate when people are nice to them.
• Pay compliments to strangers, to acquaintances, and yeah, to people who don’t even deserve them. You don’t deserve compliments sometimes either, but you’d still like one, right?
• When faced with the option to express disapproval or dislike over a project that a classmate worked hard on, generally speaking, the answer is to keep your rude comments to yourself.
• Nothing is ever stopping you from making someone smile. Say hello, hold open a door. Little things can go a long way.
• You are not impervious to errors and mistakes. If something you did or said offends somebody or hurts their feelings, ask them what you did wrong and what you can do to fix it. Don’t pretend you’re perfect when you aren’t.
• Turn your Twitter off when you’re upset.
• Don’t make fun of people for getting emotional or crying at school. Seriously, are you a sociopath?
• If you think you have nothing in common with someone, find something. Make friends with people you think you couldn’t possibly get along with. You might learn something.
• Being respectful to someone you don’t like won’t kill you.

Combating negativity isn’t impossible as long as we treat others the way we would wish to be treated. Let’s finish this school year right. Be nice to your fellow classmates. I promise it won’t suck.