If you could do it over again would you?

<p>I know that ppl all over this site probably work very hard, and i was recently at a debate tournament and reflecting over high school. And it just seems as if I missed out on so much and that in the end all the studying won't matter. Does anyone else feel this way? I mean is it really worth it?</p>

<p>As a high school student I think the only important event I will remember in the future is senior prom. Why do you feel you missed out on alot? Didn't you participate in sports, clubs and have "physical interactions."(read between the lines)</p>

<p>You can do it over again in college. If you were not very social in high school then you can be social in college. If you did not play many sports and you want to, then you can do it. It's a fresh start.</p>

<p>yea I'm definitely looking for forward to having a social life in college.. I used to have a social life but not really anymore since I started to work a lot more when my workload increased junior year</p>

<p>i worked really hard (mostly in academic decathlon), but loved every minute of it. i got to hang out with a lot of really cool, brilliant people, exercise my skills of reason, and evelope myself in a community of intense intellectualism. that's one reason why i'd like to go to harvard: i really enjoy academic work, especially with other intelligent people, and the college would be incredibly conducive to that.</p>

<p>I would do it over again and do even more stuff if I could.</p>

<p>To be honest, I've been giving this very question a lot of thought lately.</p>

<p>And I realize I'm not ready to answer. In a fit of self-protection, I'm now preparing my mind for the failure in my application to Harvard, which seems logically probable and imminent to that same mind. Harvard having been my dream since the first time I ever set foot in Cambridge nearly two years ago, it's a depressing prospect. And, now, in this tumultuous year (a function of demographics and a buildup by each and every student in the number of applications submitted), I see myself faced with the prospect of possibly ending up somewhere that wasn't a first, second, or even third or fourth choice.</p>

<p>Great choices to be sure, but not the path I had envisioned. My life has not been difficult, in the grand scheme of things, but, to be sure, if there are ways to have a safe and healthy suburban life in a college preparatory school go wrong, I have seen them all, from identity crises to strenuous effort which may have dead-ended or culminated in a loss of face. In short, it's been trying emotionally and physically and everything else.</p>

<p>Would I have done it over, knowing that I would be at the same place now? I don't know. I wish I could say that I would have not, but I just find a prolonged lack of action to be boring, and a torturous state for any being -- not our purpose in life. Abigail Adams once said: "I begin to think, that a calm is not desirable in any situation in life. Every object is beautiful in motion; a ship under sail, trees gently agitated with the wind, and a fine woman dancing, are three instances in point. Man was made for action and for bustle too, I believe."</p>

<p>I just don't know how I would've filled those evenings and weekends. I don't know how I would've filled the empty space in my head. All that studying does matter, because you've done it. You have that knowledge; it's part of you, for better or worse. So if you want to evaluate the question of "was it worth it?," simply evaluate how you feel about yourself as a person right now, before Harvard has had her say.</p>

<p>May I never become complacent because I think I have reached a goal, and may I never become discouraged because I have not reached it. All of this said, if I get rejected, I'm going to cry like a small child who has dropped an ice cream cone.</p>

<p>Wow I never thought about all the school stuff, I mean i was in band and football and debate and stuff, but I never really considered that high school stuff bc it was still school. In retrospect i have done more than i envisioned, it was mostly the party stuff that i never did, even with the option i probably still wouldn't do it (Christian) I don't know but this is certainly uplifting.</p>

<p>Dbate,
that is totally how i feel</p>

<p>After receiving three rejections so far (each from my top choice schools) I can whole-heartedly say that it wasn't worth it. I have spent <em>days</em> of my life writing pointless essays about dead, white authors, solving ridiculous physics problems that could never be used in real life application, and have snubbed my friends in order to attend night classes. Looking back, I would have much rather half-assed my way through high school, had a hell of a lot more fun playing baseball, (couldn't join the team because of my night classes) and actually go to parties like a normal teenager. It looks like I will be attending state school (the only requirement is a 20 ACT and a 2.5 GPA), and I will have wasted the past four years of my life trying to meet the steep requirements of the nation's top universities.<br>
I thought that my hard work and studying would pay off in terms of gaining admittance to a great university, and that I would be able to start "fresh" in a new atmosphere, but it just didn't happen that way. I guess the point is, if spending all of your time studying is what you LIKE to do, then go for it, but if it is just a means to a questionable end; it isn't worth it...</p>

<p>As much as I feel like I wouldn't want to go back and do it all over again, I would. As illogically as it seems at the moment, especially with admission letters coming out and my chances being slim, I've learned a lot about myself the past few years. I've pushed my self to my potential, discovered my true passions in the midst of all this, and have prepared myself well for whatever college it is that I will attend.</p>

<p>Yes, undergrad education is so important, but I would have to think that Grad school is even more important. And if I could fathom, I would think many less people are going to be applying to grad school.</p>

<p>I think we all need to re-evaluate our situations. Yes, like many of you, I've been rejected from one of my top choices, Stanford. (And the other, M.I.T., rejected me but I am so "down" with that to say the least... those kids just don't seem happy there). And I won't lie, I practically bawled when I first read it. But the thing is, within about 2 hours, my level of happiness returned to its previous position and life went on. And thats what we have to think about. Life goes on, and working hard is not something to stick our noses up at.</p>

<p>We are all so intelligent. Some kids only dream of applying to college because they never get the chance to go. There are a plethora of obstacles in the way for them, whether it be that they have to work or some sort of family crisis that will prevent them from ever receiving a higher education. And here were complaining about how we've wasted our past four years. And don't get me wrong, I've done it as well, so I'm not here trying to preach and be hypocritical, but after reading this forum I've been doing some thinking.</p>

<p>Many kids don't even get into state schools (I think its interesting how our generation has made "state school" synonomous to "my life is ruined"). But we have to keep working hard. We are all intellectual people, we can all agree on that. We still have years of college after undergrad. We have to keep trying for that.</p>

<p>And when letters come next week, we just have to avoid thinking about "what a waste of time" and "what if"'s because no good comes from that. It's gonna suck, obviously so. And I'm sure when I get my letters I will be rejected from some of my top schools, including Harvard. No matter how good my grades, test scores, ECs, volunteer work, etc etc, I'm still just an average person. And it sucks to think about it that way, to think that all my work- the late nights, the lack of a social life, the major sleep deprivation, the lost summers- will only result in a "We regret to inform you that we cannot offer you admission to our school at this time".</p>

<p>But it's all been worth it. I'm a driven, passionate, engaging person because of it.</p>

<p>and like Harvard09 said, we can do it all over in college.</p>

<p>this is a great thread.</p>

<p>i agree with many of the posters, it has DEFINITELY been worth it. sure, there are things i wish i could have done differently or studied harder or procrasinated less. but in the end, what made me grow these four years were the mistakes i made or "failures" because they made me get back on my feet again and again, each time stronger. </p>

<p>i am thankful that i chose to do what i did all my life not to because i can put things on my college application, but because i thoroughly loved the challenges and activities. i had amazing experiences and opportunities, met and collaborated with inspiring ppl, and continued to be inspired myself. </p>

<p>if you are truly passionate about something, you will not regret it even if the end result isn't something you hoped for. it's important to look ahead. don't evaluate your life based on your stats and results now because they are the result of what you did in the past, not the present. nothing is too late. </p>

<p>yes, harvard and all those top schools are prestigious, but years from now, no one will really care where you went to college. someone who do get into harvard might not even get what he/she expected. what people will care is how well you do in your work, how you pursue opportunities, and most of all, how well you lead your life. </p>

<p>nothing is lost, everything that you've done up to this point will help you one day and are constantly building up your foundation. </p>

<p>my motto is: be inspired and be happy =)</p>

<p>If I could do it all over, I would ----Jessica alba.</p>

<p>I'm just kidding. A life of regrets is a life never finished.</p>

<p>nusi...lol</p>

<p>By the way, I wasn't trying to sound like state school is bad. I guess I just feel like I let everyone else around down because they all figured I would be the one kid from the high school to get into a university no one from my high school had gotten into in the past 30 years. Oh well. As Nusi said, life goes on. Heres to a bad ass next 50+ years of life!</p>

<p>and don't ever spend ALL your time studying....i mean, unless you absolutely love love love it. there always needs to be a balance b/t studying, having fun, and pursuing other hobbies. there's more to life than studying</p>

<p>oh sorry rszanto! I didn't mean to make it sound like I was insinuating that you said state schools were bad. Actually, I think that frustration that may have come out in my post comes from experiences I've had with the kids at my school. Some of them are pretentious and arrogant beyond belief; one of these kids even told me that "state schools are not up to par with what I [he] deserve. Those who attend them are shamelessly inept".</p>

<p>And I wanted to punch the kid. Especially because neither of his parents even went to college. This same kid said that he is almost certainly guaranteed acceptance to "hahvahd" (as he said) because he is just "so intelligent".</p>

<p>I'm glad his test scores are good because the only thing he has done the past four years is play video games. </p>

<p>and a BA 50+ years sounds pretty inviting haha.</p>

<p>wow, this thread is pretty deep!</p>

<p>I want to do over HS, because I made a lot of mistakes that probably will cost me a chance at my dream school(s).</p>

<p>To a dark place this line of thought will take us. Great care we must take.</p>

<p>Take an optimistic look at past and future.</p>