<p>I always hear that colleges love to see applicants that are able to concentrate both on academics and extracurricular activities about which they are passionate. Ok, yes, this makes total sense. People who only study all the time and make no time to have fun and do things they love and/or help their school and community just don't seem attractive as additions to a class at, let's say, Harvard, where the students supposed to have the potential to be the most interesting and brightest people to go out into the world.</p>
<p>But I have a problem. It certainly isn't lack of passion or extracurricular activities; it is the complete opposite. I should say that if you asked anyone that knows me remotely well, they will say that I am a generally passionate person, meaning that I work hard with love and care in almost every single thing I do. I am a sophomore in high school and I am heavily involved in my school and community by means of clubs in which I hold many leadership positions. People have told me, that because I am a member of so many clubs (namely 4-H, Student Council, Beta, FBLA, Drama) as well as personal activities and hobbies (ten years of piano, passion for writing, etc.), I will be viewed as someone who was simply trying to do as much as I could to impress colleges. </p>
<p>I tell you, in complete honesty, that this could not be further from the truth. I am someone who is interested in almost anything that is revealed to me. I have a drive to learn more and more about everything new that I discover in the world, whether it is music, books, film, leadership, community service, sports, or academics (I personally consider academics to be an "activity" because some people, like me, have a genuine interest in and joy for learning about history and science and culture, whatnot). </p>
<p>So my question is, what do I do if can't force myself to "focus" on one thing. Does it seem that I have no passion because I can't decide what excites me the most? I love, mainly, music, writing, and film-making the most, but many of the activities that I participate in during school as well as out of school do not reflect this. I have a feeling this simply makes it seem as though I don't try and pursue my passions, when in fact all I ever do is think about a song I want to write, a book I want to write, or that movie for which I would receive the Academy Award for Best Director (I can dream, can't I?). I also simply love being an organizer and a leader. I am the president of my class and the president of the student body, and I do it because I want to do it so badly. I never ran for any position because it would make me popular or give me something to brag about on my college application, but I ran because I was so literally excited about planning monthly community service projects and homecoming week, and everything that I have had to do.</p>
<p>I know that I am probably rambling and not really getting to a real point, but I want anyone's advice as to what I should do. Should I make an adjustment to my activities (nothing dramatic, like I said, I am passionate about so many things) or is there any specific way I could convey the fact that I am interested in such a variety of areas not because I want to seem like the guy who can do anything but because I just can't imagine focusing on one thing when I want to accomplish so much to fulfill my dreams. That last sentence was a bit over-the-top, but I have been worrying about this subject for a while now, because my dream is to go to Stanford, and we all know what it takes to get into a school of such caliber. </p>
<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to read my very very long post (I probably made many grammatical errors, and I apologize) and thank you again for any advice!</p>