As Thanksgiving approaches, grocery stores are stocking up on turkeys, gravy, mashed potatoes, and cans upon cans of pumpkin purée for all those who will raid the grocery stores on what I call Thanksgiving Eve to do last minute preparations before the big day. And, the final Hunger Games movie Mockingjay Part 1 is coming out on Friday, November 21. However, despite my desire to eat a ton of food on Thanksgiving and watch Mockingjay this Friday, that is not what's on my mind.
What's on my mind is school. As Thanksgiving approaches, those days are just adding to the count down to when all my college applications are due. Yes, it totally sounds cliche and like I am obsessed with academics, but really, I am stressed out. The first semester of senior year is always the most stressful; we are struggling to retake the SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and the ACT, while performing our best academically and filling out college applications in whatever spare time we have. I thought the college application process was stressful; however, it has struck other students harder than I thought. While I go to school and hang out with friends, many seniors are flying out to different states for interviews or to visit different campuses. And students have even found the homework load from school daunting, opting to show up in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, not even caring about how they look.
For me, the college application process has not struck me so hard I am losing sleep, but sometimes I feel as if I'm drowning. I struggle to stay afloat, but continue being pushed down by the continuous college applications and homework. I have fallen into a zombie like pattern, waking up for school, going to school, coming home, doing homework, and going to sleep only to repeat it all the next day. As the first semester is only a month away from ending, I am attempting to keep up my grades while preventing senioritis from taking over my life.
I feel as if my life is currently defined by academics, as that is all I think about now. The only thing keeping me sane is probably music and horseback riding. Horseback riding is my passion; I have been riding since I was nine so it is a big part of my life. And music, I always listen to something when I do homework, whether it's Ed Sheeran, Five Seconds of Summer, Coldplay, etc. because it is calming.
Reflecting back on my four years in high school, I have definitely not lived my life to the fullest. Because I am naturally shy I didn't go out as much as I should have; I preferred to stay in watching TV and be socially awkward. Now, I wish I was more outgoing instead of being so reserved. I believe others who are like me should go out and take risks; we are living in the prime years of our teenage lives, and we shouldn't be cooped up in our house eating pints of ice cream and watching sappy romance movies. We should be with friends, shopping, watching movies, doing whatever we want to.
While we should be out having fun, we should not forget we need to keep our academics a priority. However, I do not believe we should let academics completely take over our lives. It is beneficial to be studious and smart; however, getting stressed out because you feel you need to have the perfect academic record is not healthy. Colleges do not base decisions solely on your academics, they also look at extracurriculars and your life outside of school. No one is perfect; everyone has flaws and makes mistakes, but learns from those mistakes. I have so many friends who only talk about college and grades now that we are seniors, and although I completely understand why this would be the go to topic of our conversations, hearing people repeatedly say "Oh my god my grades suck I'm never getting into college" gets on my nerves. People either say that because they are trying to get others to say that they will get into college, or because they genuinely believe they will not get into college. For the second one, my mom told me that "I will get into the college that's right for me." And that's true for everyone; although your grades might not be perfect or you got a low SAT score, you will end up at the college that's right for you. I don't have straight A's or a high ACT score, but by believing in myself, trying my best in school, and putting effort into my college applications, I will have tried my hardest, and whether I get rejected, accepted, or waitlisted, I know I put a ton of effort into everything I do.
Don't let your academic life take over who you are. You should be out taking advantage of your youth doing what you love to do, not stuck in home studying all day. Although it is important to study and do tour best in school it is good to take breaks, whether to get a snack, watch an episode of your favorite TV show, or go and get Starbucks. And if people try to bring you down because of how studious you are or because of an average grade you receive, don't let them. Be positive, stay true to yourself, and continue trying your best. Believing in yourself and committing to doing what you love is what will make you succeed in the future.
What's on my mind is school. As Thanksgiving approaches, those days are just adding to the count down to when all my college applications are due. Yes, it totally sounds cliche and like I am obsessed with academics, but really, I am stressed out. The first semester of senior year is always the most stressful; we are struggling to retake the SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and the ACT, while performing our best academically and filling out college applications in whatever spare time we have. I thought the college application process was stressful; however, it has struck other students harder than I thought. While I go to school and hang out with friends, many seniors are flying out to different states for interviews or to visit different campuses. And students have even found the homework load from school daunting, opting to show up in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, not even caring about how they look.
For me, the college application process has not struck me so hard I am losing sleep, but sometimes I feel as if I'm drowning. I struggle to stay afloat, but continue being pushed down by the continuous college applications and homework. I have fallen into a zombie like pattern, waking up for school, going to school, coming home, doing homework, and going to sleep only to repeat it all the next day. As the first semester is only a month away from ending, I am attempting to keep up my grades while preventing senioritis from taking over my life.
I feel as if my life is currently defined by academics, as that is all I think about now. The only thing keeping me sane is probably music and horseback riding. Horseback riding is my passion; I have been riding since I was nine so it is a big part of my life. And music, I always listen to something when I do homework, whether it's Ed Sheeran, Five Seconds of Summer, Coldplay, etc. because it is calming.
Reflecting back on my four years in high school, I have definitely not lived my life to the fullest. Because I am naturally shy I didn't go out as much as I should have; I preferred to stay in watching TV and be socially awkward. Now, I wish I was more outgoing instead of being so reserved. I believe others who are like me should go out and take risks; we are living in the prime years of our teenage lives, and we shouldn't be cooped up in our house eating pints of ice cream and watching sappy romance movies. We should be with friends, shopping, watching movies, doing whatever we want to.
While we should be out having fun, we should not forget we need to keep our academics a priority. However, I do not believe we should let academics completely take over our lives. It is beneficial to be studious and smart; however, getting stressed out because you feel you need to have the perfect academic record is not healthy. Colleges do not base decisions solely on your academics, they also look at extracurriculars and your life outside of school. No one is perfect; everyone has flaws and makes mistakes, but learns from those mistakes. I have so many friends who only talk about college and grades now that we are seniors, and although I completely understand why this would be the go to topic of our conversations, hearing people repeatedly say "Oh my god my grades suck I'm never getting into college" gets on my nerves. People either say that because they are trying to get others to say that they will get into college, or because they genuinely believe they will not get into college. For the second one, my mom told me that "I will get into the college that's right for me." And that's true for everyone; although your grades might not be perfect or you got a low SAT score, you will end up at the college that's right for you. I don't have straight A's or a high ACT score, but by believing in myself, trying my best in school, and putting effort into my college applications, I will have tried my hardest, and whether I get rejected, accepted, or waitlisted, I know I put a ton of effort into everything I do.
Don't let your academic life take over who you are. You should be out taking advantage of your youth doing what you love to do, not stuck in home studying all day. Although it is important to study and do tour best in school it is good to take breaks, whether to get a snack, watch an episode of your favorite TV show, or go and get Starbucks. And if people try to bring you down because of how studious you are or because of an average grade you receive, don't let them. Be positive, stay true to yourself, and continue trying your best. Believing in yourself and committing to doing what you love is what will make you succeed in the future.