Do you ever feel like you're missing out on something?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

<p>Living in a suburb in Washington and going to an average high school makes me look like a major grade grubbing nerd. Although I play sports and I am involved in school, people think I study too much and I need to get a life. Is it just me or the people I’m surrounded by? Here’s my summer routine:</p>

<p>6:30-8:00 am Working out at the YMCA (swimming and strength training for soccer)
8:30-1:30 pm Working at the Pool (lifeguarding & swim instructing)
1:30-3:00 pm Varsity soccer practice
3:30-5:30 pm Studying for the SAT
5:30-9:00 pm Dinner/Family Time/Chores/Help with my siblings
9:00-10:30 pm Free Time/Personal Time/Relaxing</p>

<p>This is basically every day with the exception of hanging out with friends occasionally and volunteering a few times a week. </p>

<p>I know where I want to go (Wellesley!) and who I want to be; I also know what I need to do to get there. But sometimes I feel like maybe I’m missing out on the high school experience or living life to the fullest. How about you?</p>

2

<p>I feel the same way. </p>

<p>Work comes before play (for me) and I work a lot. </p>

<p>Success is coming soon.</p>

3

<p>Hey looks like you want to apply to Wellesley too, maybe we’ll see each other there one day! And I’m glad to hear you’re on the same boat. Despite how inadequate CC makes me feel sometimes with all these high SAT scores and insane ECs, I find comfort in knowing I’m not the only nerd out there hahah</p>

4

<p>I’m also considering Wellesley, maybe we’ll see eachother there! Lol. Well, I constantly feel like that. Like I’m missing out on all of the fun, and that I’m throwing my childhood away and all that jazz. Then I see the kids who are having all the fun, I see where they’re at in life, I see where their parents are, since they must allow them to do it, I see a lot of factors that come into play, and I’m glad I’m not them. I don’t want to be a senior, stressing over money and acceptance rates and test scores, because I decided to have fun my entire high school life. I can have fun later on in life, when my career is established, and I can fund it myself. There’s always time for fun later on, no need to have it now.</p>

5

<p>not really, I’m the work hard then play hard kind of person</p>

6

<p>EMKaitlyn, that’s an awesome attitude to have and that’s something I’ve tried to keep in mind for myself as well. It’s hard seeing everyone else around you have all the fun. I know this sounds incredibly mean but I keep thinking about going back to my high school reunion when Im old and seeing all my old classmates. I almost want to say “All those times you mocked me because I studied my ass off in high school… look where I am now and look at where you are now.” But I think I’ll just keep that hostility to myself hahaha</p>

7

<p>Even if you miss out on a high school experience, there’s still college to look forward to…</p>

<p>Every time I go a high school party and people start playing Magic (which is a rip-off of YuGiOh), I think about how great college will be. Par-tay.</p>

8

<p>Dude your lucky! I would kill for a full schedule that stayed the same everyday like that!</p>

9

<p>Seems like a lot but being occupied is better than not being occupied. I don’t think I could study for the SAT 2 hours a day for the entire summer, and I only exercise 2 hours a day most days.</p>

<p>But the “high school experience” is overrated anyway. Not that I would know…</p>

10

<p>Yeah I want to play collegiate soccer so I have been working out and strength training a lot. I play goalie so I gotta buff up a little :wink: I don’t know much about the high school experience either… never tried anything and never been to a party. Sometimes I feel like giving up everything and going out to have fun… but then I talk myself out of it.</p>

11

<p>I know how you feel I work a lot I have missed out on concerts with my friends my best friends birthday party new years I worked christmas Easter mothers and fathers day and I have to work 4th of July so I can’t go spend time and go see fireworks with my boyfriend friends and family. Plus volleyball starts July 25th so we can start training and that is 6 days a week</p>

12

<p>

One of the most common regrets people have on their deathbeds is “I wish I had more fun in life”. Just like you get into trouble if you procrastinate on your work, you’ll get into a different kind of trouble if you procrastinate on your fun. A good life has a healthy balance of work and fun.
There are circumstances that might require you to work more than you have fun, but you should at least try to stay balanced.</p>

<p>

It isn’t healthy to work all the time. The people who are the happiest (which is one measure of success, although not necessarily the one you will gauge yourself on) are the people who know how to structure their time so that they have time for both work and fun.

Actually, it’s the other way around. Magic was the first trading card game, and both Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh came a few years later.</p>

13

<p>^ Haha I’m clearly out of the loop.</p>

14

<p>Well I just got back from going down water slides at the pool. Does that count as fun?</p>

15

<p>I’m working almost all the time and I never really feel like I’m missing out on anything. My schedule isn’t as rigid and structured as yours is (I don’t time my studying at all. When I’m done I’m done, lol, and then I move on to the next subject), but I do work quite a lot.</p>

<p>I’m currently part of 7 clubs, and I’m soon going to be editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. I’m trying to start a club of my own (if that works out I’ll be doing 8 clubs). I take an AP class and a college class at the local community college. I go to a charter school so our work for all our classes is pretty rigorous. I’ve been studying for the ACT but thankfully that’s over now. I also take flute lessons (I’m submitting the Art Supplement for the Common App, so I’ve been practicing even more than usual lately). I’m considering volunteering at the library around 4-6 hours per week next semester. I have homework on the weekends but try to get it all done Saturday. Despite everything that I do, I usually have about 1-2 hours of family time and 2-3 hours (sometimes 4 on Wednesdays and Fridays) of free time on weekdays. I also usually get Sundays off.</p>

<p>I did feel like I was missing out last year when I was a junior. This was because I was spending 3-4 hours studying physics every day (I was struggling to pass; managed a C and then had to drop out of the class after the first semester) and 2-3 hours trying to get all my reading and homework done for geography (seriously, that was as much work as an AP class). Then I spent the rest of the time struggling to stay awake and study for the rest of my classes. For about 2 1/2-3 months, I coped with maybe one full day off a month (if I was lucky), an average of 6 1/2 hours of sleep on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 hours max of free time PER WEEK (“free time” back then was also combined with the time it took to eat and shower). It was only then that I was getting really stressed and overworked.</p>

<p>But besides for that semester from hell, I’ve never really felt like I was missing out on anything. The only thing I regret from high school is not taking the time to join more clubs or get to know my fellow classmates. However, that had less to do with me studying too much and more to do with the fact that I’m really, really shy, lol. I totally thrive on the work that I do. I’m completely driven by accomplishment. If I don’t get my work done first, I feel like I don’t deserve to play and have fun. Besides, if I play before I work, I can never really have fun anyway because I’m always thinking about the work I still have to do.</p>

<p>So, all things considered, I personally don’t think anything’s wrong with your routine. Why do you feel like you’re missing out? Do you feel stressed or overworked, or do you feel like you’re missing out just because the people at your school are much more laid back? The people at my school are basically split in two extremes: half the people are super competitive and pack on as much work as humanly possible, while the other half get mostly failing/just passing grades (as you can imagine, the latter will most likely not be graduating this year). I come from a 5-star charter school. Therefore, I can’t completely relate as to what it’s like to be surrounded by tons people who don’t obsess about their studies. Out of curiosity, if the majority of people at your school are like that, are you graduating valedictorian?</p>

16

<p>^Dude I know your new here and all but please don’t post in threads that are months old</p>

17

<p>No I will not be graduating as valedictorian because my school does not weigh grades. The valedictorian will be a student who has had all A’s but has only taken like 1 AP class. At the end of this year I will have taken 8 AP classes and several honors classes, had a couple A-s, and be ranked #5…whattheheck…</p>

18

<p>Number 5 is still great considering your school doesn’t weight grades :)</p>

19

<p>You’re only missing out if you think you are missing out. Don’t bother for searching for what you’re missing out on, otherwise you’ll feel like you’re missing out.</p>

20

<p>I’m missing out on a bunch of parties. It’s a fact, that I’m missing out on fun.</p>