Hello CC community,
I am a junior and I am currently debating between what ECs to continue. You can find my previous thread here, which discusses schedule-load (this current thread IS different btw): http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/2194516-planning-ecs-for-junior-year-are-100hr-weeks-normal-p1.html
I am deciding to continue with my ECs but I’m still feeling iffy about mock trial. I’m finally good enough at mock trial that I’m getting performing roles, and I’m pretty sure that if I work hard, I can become a main member (and maybe even become captain senior year). Our team is near the top in the state, with national experience, so it’s very competitive.
I like mock trial, but I’m noticing that I’m feeling less passionate about it compared to before (which may be because it’s all virtual, and I would hate to quit if I’m still happy about it). I’ve also had difficult experiences with toxic team members and overall feel anxious being in that environment more than my baseline (which is already elevated lol).
What’s making me feel especially ambivalent is the time commitment. Mock trial meetings are anywhere from 5-8hrs a week, with 2-4hrs of outside time expected for performing members, which adds up to 7-12hrs a week of work (if I become a captain, it’ll be 9-15hrs). I do have a reduced homework load this year because of virtual school, but I’m worried that my demanding schedule elsewhere will cause me to either underperform with mock trial, or underperform with my other ECs, ultimately leading to less fulfillment.
There’s also a lot of pressure from all around to continue mock trial. I poured my heart and soul into it these last two years, so the team already expects a lot from me, and there’s an unspoken expectation on the team that you’ll continue all 4 years of HS. All the forums I look at with people in similar situations urge them to continue mock because it looks good for college apps, and, as toxic at it sounds, I feel obligated to continue for my team and for college.
Everyone around me is balancing tons of ECs and performing so well in them, and I feel like I’m being weak or lazy if I decide to quit mock trial because I’m worried I’ll be too overwhelmed. If I quit mock, I’ll definitely have more time to dedicate to my self-started ECs (2 student orgs, 1 of which is a volunteer org), volunteering, my research position, scholarship search, etc. But I feel an overwhelming expectation that I should be able to be a nationally-ranked figure skater, have 3 leadership positions, be involved in multiple school clubs, effortlessly manage 100+hr weeks, AND be fantastic at mock.
Would it be a good idea to quit mock trial? Am I just being weak and whiny? Please be brutally honest - this is the type of feedback I am not getting from people in my life.
Thank you!