By Matt Wahlgren, Executive Editor
The senior class is almost done with high school. So it’s a good enough time to look back and think about what we did and what the other grades can do as a result. This was the grade that was in the high school in 8th grade, the grade that got the eight period schedule our last year, and the grade that got the best version of Midweek Mentors.
Looking back, there was, contrary to popular belief, nothing to worry too much about. There are always challenges scattered throughout high school but not much that could cripple a future.
People will always freak out about finals, the ACT, quizzes, and homework. Whether you get all nervous, or just relax and do your best, doesn’t make any difference in the end.
It’s not so much that preparation is bad, because it isn’t, it’s more about the attitude of the students that don’t think they’re going to snag a 37 on the ACT. Finals, too, can maybe drag an A to a B, but if you get a 97 instead of a 100, it probably isn’t the end of the world.
High school is a place to learn. At the same time, it’s important to enjoy life. You only get one, so if you spend months stressing out that’s time you never get back.
While it’s true that you should focus and study, it’s also important to enjoy the little things. That’s probably what you’ll remember when you’re a wrinkly old prune in a wheelchair; the things you got to do that you enjoyed.
Not to mention, a lot of the things you learn in high school aren’t actually academic. You learn social skills, you learn how to be responsible (maybe), you learn how to make an effort. It’s important to focus on all that stuff as well because it as much as any academics determines where you’ll end up later in life.
Friends? Sure, you may lose some of them if you go away to college, but they’re here now, so enjoy them while they last.
You can burn your eyes out on a government textbook on a rainy weeknight, but someday you would regret it if you spent a lovely Saturday inside while your friends went somewhere without you.
Learning how to socialize and get along with other people is going to help in the competitive job market just as much as academics will, for the most part. Most managers don’t like to see a pale shut-in creature that has all the character of someone who lived in a fallout shelter for their entire childhood.
The same applies with working. We all know a few parents that won’t let their kid get a job because it would distract from their education.
The fact is, sometimes the work experience and money management skills you gain are worth just as much as whatever school-related thing you would have been doing any ways.
A lot of the jobs that are out there after college will look at the jobs you had before you went to college, and not having any is probably not a plus.
Plus, who doesn’t like to get a paycheck once in awhile? Having access to that money is an important part of growing up and learning how to manage your own finances, which you sort of will have to know for the rest of life.
Soon, plenty of seniors will be living on their own. This means managing your time, your money, and your grades.
It’s a good time here in high school to figure out how exactly to balance all those things, when it’s possible to drop the ball without dropping out.
There is, somewhere, somehow, some kind of balance, where you can slow down and enjoy life but still have good grades. There are happy people out there experiencing it right now. The challenge most of us face, is finding it.