Matthew Johnson, Civics Teacher
When asked to consider and elaborate on one of my high school mistakes, I thought back to the little things that I’d done that maybe could have gone differently. Were there things said to friends I wish I could take back? Were there tests taken - maybe in math - that I wish I had better prepared for? Were there ideas formed that didn’t pan out the way they were supposed to? I didn’t have many of those moments, and that’s not because I didn’t make mistakes. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a perfectionist. In high school, if there was a chance that I would be unsuccessful at something or that I would come across looking foolish, I wouldn’t even consider trying to do it.
I didn’t want to lose any friends, so some things I kept to myself. I didn’t want to disappoint anyone by failing tests, so I made sure to study for hours to prepare. I didn’t want someone to think my ideas were crazy, so those thoughts remained in my head during group projects. I had a role to maintain - I was competitive to become valedictorian or salutatorian. I knew this during my freshman year of high school. If I fought to maintain my GPA, I could walk away with that honor. What I didn’t realize was the level of stress this would bring me and what experiences I would be missing out on.
It hit me my senior year, as I watched my friends enjoying many of their classes, while I continued to take Advanced Placement classes simply to maintain my class rank. Those classes would help me eliminate having to take Calculus or maybe Biology when I got to college, but what would I miss out on? I made the decision to take classes the last semester of my senior year that I knew I would enjoy, not ones that would bolster my GPA. And guess what? It all worked out. My class rank was not damaged beyond repair. I got into every college I applied to. But I did all this, while not stressing out about the details.
Don’t misunderstand me as I write this. I’m not sharing this to encourage you to take easy classes or to ignore your class rank and GPA. I want you to make sure you maintain a balance. Work hard to be successful, strengthen your class average, take classes to make college life easier for yourself. But don’t forget to have some fun along the way. Add a class that you enjoy, take some moments to play some video games, hang out with friends when you have free time. That’s the one thing I wish I had learned before my last semester of high school. If I had realized this sooner, I think it would have eliminated some unneeded stress from my life.
Life is a journey. Don’t become so distracted by the end goal that you forget to take in the scenery on the way. That is something I understand now, but things would have been so much easier if I’d had someone tell me that back in 2003.
I didn’t want to lose any friends, so some things I kept to myself. I didn’t want to disappoint anyone by failing tests, so I made sure to study for hours to prepare. I didn’t want someone to think my ideas were crazy, so those thoughts remained in my head during group projects. I had a role to maintain - I was competitive to become valedictorian or salutatorian. I knew this during my freshman year of high school. If I fought to maintain my GPA, I could walk away with that honor. What I didn’t realize was the level of stress this would bring me and what experiences I would be missing out on.
It hit me my senior year, as I watched my friends enjoying many of their classes, while I continued to take Advanced Placement classes simply to maintain my class rank. Those classes would help me eliminate having to take Calculus or maybe Biology when I got to college, but what would I miss out on? I made the decision to take classes the last semester of my senior year that I knew I would enjoy, not ones that would bolster my GPA. And guess what? It all worked out. My class rank was not damaged beyond repair. I got into every college I applied to. But I did all this, while not stressing out about the details.
Don’t misunderstand me as I write this. I’m not sharing this to encourage you to take easy classes or to ignore your class rank and GPA. I want you to make sure you maintain a balance. Work hard to be successful, strengthen your class average, take classes to make college life easier for yourself. But don’t forget to have some fun along the way. Add a class that you enjoy, take some moments to play some video games, hang out with friends when you have free time. That’s the one thing I wish I had learned before my last semester of high school. If I had realized this sooner, I think it would have eliminated some unneeded stress from my life.
Life is a journey. Don’t become so distracted by the end goal that you forget to take in the scenery on the way. That is something I understand now, but things would have been so much easier if I’d had someone tell me that back in 2003.