<p>Junior year of HS has been rough. I either maintain a 4.3 GPApaired with the ever-so-healthy side effects of three hours of sleep per night; extreme perfectionism, thus extreme depression; weight gain due to lack of exercise; emotional breakdowns; social withdrawalor I nurture my interests and personal character. There is no middle ground. </p>
<p>Ive lost myself. I miss the old me. She was creative, youthful, fun-loving, imaginative, bubbly, and treasured every part of life. But school consumes so much of my time, that my personality in and of itself has become totally ambiguous. </p>
<p>Favorite movie? No time. Music? Binaural beat study aids. Hobby? Studying. (Obviously.) Friends? Eh, we hang out maybe once a month. </p>
<p>Knowing these are legitimate answers terrifies me. Whatever free time I have, even, seems dominated by college and SATs and college. There is no break. </p>
<p>So, I have two choices. A) Regain my personal development but fall behind in school, or B) sacrifice my personal development but excel in school. Wharton is my top choice, but if this is the lifestyle to anticipate, I just may reconsider. This is not healthy. I want my old self back. </p>
<p>Any advice?
Cannot thank you enough for your time. Enjoy the weekend. :)</p>
<p>Hi, hope you’re doing all right. Having gone through something similar (and to some degree, am still experiencing it), I do feel for you. Perhaps, if you’re really overloaded with classes and extracurriculars, you could drop some of the latter. And it would be really important to find out what you’re interested in, what your real calling in life is, and then just maintain the activities and classes, etc. associated with that interest. Other things would be secondary. </p>
<p>You could also talk to someone you know or trust, like your family, friends, teachers, or counselors, but please, please don’t give up on what you want in life, no matter what. That’s the most important thing. And people do understand - I assure you that you are not alone. I wish the best for you, and I really hope you can find a solution.</p>
<p>Yikes, I’m hoping that you’re exaggerating? Anyway unless you have a spouse, job and family, you shouldn’t be that stressed out. If you are then power down the studies and save your sanity. GL</p>
<p>I just began playing video games again, after about a 5 month break (since school started). I missed them dearly. I really did.
I decided that instead of doing my research paper for english, I was going to play Team Fortress 2. Some would say that’s irresponsible; I’d say it’s helping me keep sane.
Moral of the story: Sometimes, sanity > grades. Stop studying so much, and read a book, or just take 45-50 minutes out of your day and listen to an album. That’s what I’ll do. It’s catharsis at its finest.</p>
<p>Even if you completely sacrifice yourself as a person for the sake of scholarly success, could you keep it up for very long? I don’t think so. Everyone burns out eventually if they don’t enjoy their lives. That said, you may not enjoy your life if you completely forsake your schoolwork either. Although there are some in this world that don’t need it, many people thrive on personal accomplishment.</p>
<p>I say, do your required homework, study for an extra 15 minutes per class that requires it, and call it a day. Go listen to music, watch a movie, call your friends, drive around, go to the beach or a pool, draw or paint, learn to play an instrument, just do something that makes you happy. Realize that many colleges are holistic, and so is life. You need to become a more experienced and well rounded person if you want to succeed in life, which is far more important than being perfect in school.</p>
<p>I really don’t think this is what colleges want for you… to give up EVERYTHING just to spend your entire high school career studying, just to increase your chances in college admissions. That sounds awful.</p>
<p>Some people are just simply extraordinary. They are able to find a balance between getting perfect grades/staying involved in ECs and hanging out with friends. I’m not someone that can do this. You’re not someone that can do this. Most people cannot do this.</p>
<p>I know that even if I spent all of my time focusing on academics, not only would I be unhappy and hating life, but I also wouldn’t be preforming well BECAUSE I am unhappy. So, I’m trying to find a balance, by getting pretty good grades, making sleep my #1 priority, and by spending any free time I have doing things that I enjoy. Sure, I may be “wasting” valuable time to study for SATs and APs. I probably won’t get into my dream school, tbh. The upside? I’m not killing myself…</p>
<p>You’re not going to be able to get through all of life like this. You will get burnt out eventually. You say there is no middle ground, but you are going to have to find a balance somehow. If it means getting less than a 100% in one of your classes and a 2390 on the SAT, so be it. If you continue down this path, you will probably have many regrets about your high school experience, and you may lose yourself in the process.</p>
<p>By the way, if this lifestyle doesn’t somehow break you down emotionally, it will get to you physically. Not exercising at all and getting 3 hours of sleep a day is seriously unhealthy. Nothing is worth sacrificing your health over. Please, just think about the big picture for a second.</p>
<p>I hope I’m not coming off a all-knowing and successful. I’m very stressed out as well and am still trying to figure out a balance. I’m also dealing with a severe lack of motivation. I’m just starting to really reconsider my priorities, and I think it would be beneficial for you to do the same.</p>
<p>You guys are so kind and gracious Thank you. Im very lucky to have stumbled across such a considerate group. </p>
<p>I suppose my perfection contributes a great deal. (Goodness, you should have witnessed the emotional breakdown when I scored less-than-satisfactory on a standardized algebra test.) Somewhere along the way, my mind forged the notion that impressive academics = business major at an Ivy = high salary = success. It stuck. Sure, maybe Id like to attend that tiny little college in St. Augustine, but the academics dont stack up. I know that Wharton looks better on resumes. </p>
<p>Not going to lie. Luxury is my kryptonite. My childhood/adolescent environment taught me to appreciate and revere nice things, and continuously strive towards achieving them. High salary yields those kinds of luxuries. You work hard, you get rewarded. </p>
<p>Thats a philosophy I completely embrace and support. The problem is that I expect the benefits of a high salary, but cannot physically/mentally/emotionally condition myself to receive it. So I think I need to recognize that A) luxuries are not a prerequisite for happiness, and B) monetary gain does not always equate to happiness. I just dont know how.</p>
<p>I feel strongly connected to your case. You are an academic, and it is hard to find a middle grown being one. There is the educational life and the social life, and the two doesn’t seem to coexist. Since freshmen year I started that I will cancel out the social life for the betterment of my education. As time gone by, I found lots of pride being the top student but the lack of a social life was sometime unbearable, I a human too. Now when I think back on the process, I think a little bit of socialization can actually help along with the education, it does slow you down but at the same time it acts a motivation to go on, it give a little taste to the the numbers and equations. Things like group study and community service does contributes.</p>
<p>You’re probably working harder than you really need to. Getting good grades requires sacrifices, but it doesn’t need to mean losing everything else completely. You probably just need to study more efficiently.</p>
<p>Take a few SAT practice tests a month before you take the test and you’ll probably do fine. I think it’s insane to take a class or invent some intense study regime just for these tests. They’re not that hard. At all. </p>
<p>And your extracurriculars are supposed to be things you enjoy anyway.</p>
Having gone through something similar (and to some degree, am still experiencing it), I do feel for you. Perhaps, if you’re really overloaded with classes and extracurriculars, you could drop some of the latter. And it would be really important to find out what you’re interested in, what your real calling in life is, and then just maintain the activities and classes, etc. associated with that interest. Other things would be secondary. </p>