Sports, arts, clubs, academic teams… the list of extracurriculars available inside and outside of Ridge goes on and on. Which ones should you choose? How do you balance them with school? And what if you want to do a half-dozen of them at the same time and still sleep at night?
If these questions are answered too late, you could end up miserable, regretful, and very, very tired. However, if you choose and manage your activities wisely, you might just unlock a lifetime passion and make a great set of friends.
The hassles of handling extracurriculars may make you want to just forget about them altogether, but don’t limit yourself this way! Each activity offers a multitude of benefits that are well worth the time. Participating in a sport gives you a great source of exercise, along with a dose of school spirit. Clubs offer opportunities to explore interests or support philanthropic causes. Academic teams create a competitive yet fun environment to showcase your abilities and learn something new.
As Benjamin Zhou ‘16 states, “High school is all about finding out your true identity. You get to meet a lot of great friends who share the same interests as well as try a plethora of new activities in which you might have interest in.” Though extracurriculars do take up time, don’t let that scare you from trying new things or pursuing a deep passion.
Before you decide to make a commitment, make sure to rethink why you’re doing so. Are you participating in your extracurriculars because you truly love what they involve? Or do you do them just “to put on your college app,” or “because your parents wanted you to?” There’s no reason to lock yourself into an activity you don’t like just to appeal to admissions officers, especially if they can figure out your real lack of motivation. Instead, try to tailor your activities to fit what you’re interested in and bolster your resume simultaneously. Not only will following your interests allow for a more enjoyable high school experience, but it’ll also have the bonus of making you appear more motivated and distinct to your choice colleges.
There’s still another important consideration: whether all the activities you want to do actually fit in your schedule! Unfortunately, there’s only so much time in a day, so you may end up having to choose one activity over the other. Especially if you choose to join a more rigorous activity, like a sports or academic team, you’ll inevitably have to make sacrifices and accept the opportunity costs associated with each choice you make. Before your schedule gets too cluttered, make sure you have your priorities straight from the start. Think about which extracurriculars are the most valuable to you, consider how much time you want to devote to other things, and go from there.
One of the most important of these “other things” is schoolwork; extracurriculars are not excuses for completely neglecting your grades! Even if you do still intend to keep academics as a priority, the simple fact that extracurriculars take up time will create a lot of pressure. How do you stay on top of your schoolwork, then? First of all, make sure you do your homework at the first chance you get. After getting home, you might be tempted to take some time to wind down, but keep this to a minimum and try to get to work right away. In addition, take advantage of your study halls, especially if you have one due to Option II.
For some activities, you might also have to miss classes for competitions or games. Trying to “catch up” by yourself or trying to skip out on work by not alerting your teacher will just end up causing even more trouble. Instead, go to your teacher one or two days in advance to find out what you’ll miss and schedule any makeups, and perhaps ask a friend for details when you come back.
These tips will help you handle your homework on busy days, but they also have the bonus of shaping you into a more organized student overall. Katie Corrigan ‘15, a swimmer on both the school and local YMCA teams, explains, “I actually feel like swimming helps me keep myself disciplined and organized. I’ve found that I can usually get all my homework done before 5:30 every night. It’s not easy to balance 5 APs and swimming, but it’s possible!” As her experience shows, you don’t necessarily have to choose between school and extracurriculars; with the right habits, you can definitely handle both and perform your best.
While poorly planned extracurriculars will only suck away your time without contributing to your life, thoughtful consideration and management can make them the highlights of your high school career. Corrigan comments, “A lot of my time gets devoted to swimming. Despite this, I love swimming and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.” Zhou sums it up by saying, “Although having a bunch of extracurricular activities may seem tedious and time-consuming, the unique one-of-a-kind experiences that each club holds warrants the time put into each activity.” Juggling school and extracurriculars may not always be easy, but if you do it right, you can excel at both and have some truly fulfilling experiences and memories.
Saisuki Putumbaka • Feb 27, 2015 at 12:25 pm
I completely agree with this article. Its extremely important to balance activities and prioritize activities to prevent overload. This is really valuable advice and should be followed. Also, people who do activities just for their college resumes must think carefully if they will be able to give it their all at that activity because it is important to not only be all rounded but also to be well invested in all the activities that we chose to do.