Get good grades, work part time, volunteer, apply for scholarships, do daily physical activity and get eight hours of sleep. Do all these things, but also what you love.
In my English 11 class, I explored a topic every day for one week. I chose digital music composition, since I wanted to learn to enhance some of my animation projects. I was excited to dedicate time practicing a passion. But it became increasingly clear that I, and many of my classmates, didn’t have enough time.
I got a bad cold, missed school, worked the weekend, studied for an exam, and had plans that I couldn’t change. Things piled up to the point where I was trying to finish three songs in one day. Any learning I had done went out the window; I just wanted to sleep. I ended up with three bland songs that sounded exactly the same, only progressively worse. I hadn’t improved. My optimism became frustration; I found myself reading articles on teenage stress instead.
As someone wanting to go to animation school, working at a fast food restaurant and learning about neutrons and protons helps me succeed as much as a ripped 20 dollar bill.
Unfortunately, these were the things preventing me from doing something that really could help my chances of succeeding. English is one of the few classes at school I find really interesting and this project was one I was very excited to do, but it was overshadowed by many other obligations that are much less in line with my future goals. These things were getting in the way of me doing something that I loved.
A writer for USA Today wrote that he believes high school students are put under too much pressure, and the school system should be working to fix it. In 2015, the Born This Way foundation conducted a survey, with 22,000 students, asking: “how do you currently feel at school?” The top three answers: tired, bored, and stressed.
Kids need to not be so busy and given some space to find their own way.
Students should be done with school when the final bell rings to explore their passions and do what they love.