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Everyone on the schoolground says a lot of things, only some of which are accurate. It’s that “gotta give back” idea, colleges demand to see it. Totally false.</p>
<p>I think the word “passion” is overused, but I do think it is reasonable for a 9th grader to try a bunch of things, narrow it down somewhat in 10th grade as they see what they like and what they don’t, and then really get involved in one or two of their favorite things after that. Is that “passion”? Well, maybe some would call it that, but I don’t think it has to have that label in order to simply find something(s) you like and then deeply pursue them. As Stanford more or less says in the quote above, BTW…</p>