I need an outsiders opinion. I am a junior in high school and I’ve been a part of a colorguard team my entire 3 years of high school. Colorguard seriously stresses me out a lot. I have fun in colorguard, but it takes up so much time and energy. I have been debating whether or not to quit colorguard. All of my friends are in colorguard, so if I quit then I lose all my friends. I don’t want to lose precious memories with them. But at the same time, I really need to get a job. Having a job and being in colorguard is possible, but colorguard barely allows me time to do homework now, so how could I do homework when I do colorguard and then go straight to work? Another thing is that both of my parents want me to quit colorguard because it’s too expensive to pay for and because they want me to get a job. I want to make my parents happy and focus on getting a job and be less stressed and have a relaxed senior year. But, I also don’t want to lose my friends and disappointment my coach and all the other people who want me to stay in guard. I love colorguard so much, but I don’t know if being in it is good for me anymore. I feel like I’m torn straight in half and I don’t know which option will be better for me in the long run. Please give me advice.
Will you see your guard friends anywhere else other than color guard? Why would you lose all of your friends if you quit? They should understand that you are doing what’s best for you.
Is colorguard mostly in the fall?
Can you start work now and quit/go to lower hours in the fall?
How are your grades? That is the most important thing for college.
Why do you need to work? Spending money? Saving for college?
Can you babysit as a job? it is more flexible.
if you stay in colorguard, work on your college application over the summer. Have your colleges picked out and your essay written before you go back to school.
How efficient are you at studying? Are you using your spare time to study and not watch tv/youtube while you are studying?
If you do quit, you will be able to spend time with your friends after the fall football/competiton season.
Having enough time to do homework, especially during junior year, is something you should not give up or compromise because your grades are the most important part of your application. Also, if you are not happy doing color guard, then you should think about your enjoyment as well. If you can find ways to still hang out with your friends, I think giving up color guard sounds like it has more benefits.
I quit swimming my junior yr bc my parents pushed me a lot to be rly competitive; this made me hate the sport, and I became really stressed, which wasn’t healthy for me. I took on too many ecs and other classes as well. Quitting opened up more time for me to make new friends by joining XC and allowed me to maintain my grades and feel a lot better. I actually started swimming again my senior year bc I missed the water, but now I do it for fun and love it. I think it’s extremely important to find out what you prioritize- I wanted to improve my mental health and realized that stress was the main issue for me, so I took steps to decrease it.
If money is an issue as well, I’d say quit. If you rly want to stay friends, just keep in touch and make an effort to get together on weekends and such. But you should value your health and schoolwork the most imho…
I struggle with this as well, but try not to be swayed by other’s emotions about you quitting. This is your decision, not theirs. It’s important to be selfish when regarding your wellbeing and future. Some things in your life are meant to be temporary and you’ll have to get accustomed to letting things go…
I would never see any of them if I quit colorguard. It takes up almost all of your weekends and a month of summer
Colorguard goes past the fall. It’s an all year organization
This is so hard because guard makes me happy and miserable at the same time
I know that stress isn’t good for my health but I don’t want to look back on my senior year and think wow I missed out on things I love because I didn’t want to be stressed out.
But thank you all for this advice I appreciate it a lot.