Fun Fact about Greg: It is his life goal to watch a Major League Baseball game in every stadium
Could I Have Done Things Differently?
April 17, 2006
Well, it's over. Four years of studying for school and for standardized tests. Four years of participating in extracurricular activities. Four years thinking about how it was all worth it to get accepted to college.
Now that everyone at my school has found out what schools they've been accepted to, I've seen a common train of thought running through people's minds, including my own: "Was it worth it? Did I make the best of high school? Could I have done anything differently and wound up with the same results?" After spending four days at Notre Dame a few weeks ago, I know everything I did was worth it. But did I make the best of high school? Definitely not. And could I have done things differently and still be on my way to South Bend? Without a doubt.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad I studied hard and was always prepared for school. What really bugs me about my high school career is how I fell into the trap set by college admissions telling me to be a "well-rounded person" and how I let that guide my choice of extracurricular activities. Other than my main extracurricular, which is being the Editor-in-Chief of my school paper (an opportunity that I love and am extremely thankful for), I think that I convinced myself to participate in things just to enhance my college resume.
I enjoyed some of the time I spent working with the student government, the math team, and the tennis team, but if I had to do it all over again I think I would have gone a different route. I heard that colleges liked to see commitment to a few activities, so after I chose those my freshman year I felt like I was stuck with them. I think that there are way too many high school students who would say that they did the same thing. I should have explored my interests more thoroughly instead of wasting fifteen hours a week during the spring on the tennis courts, and a few more hours doing other things I had lost interest in.
While there is no way to know for sure, I think that if I had decided that those clubs weren't for me and if I had moved on to try different things I would still have been accepted to Notre Dame. If I had the chance to go back and do it all over again, I would, and maybe I would have a better idea about what clubs I want to be involved once I arrive on campus at Notre Dame.
I deeply hope that there is a way to fix college admissions so there aren't so many people like me that become products of the system. Even though admissions counselors will say they want you to find a few activities that you enjoy and stick with them, there is a good chance that it might take people all four years of high school to find those clubs and organizations. I'm sure many students find that their interests change over the course of high school as well.
High schoolers waste too much time worrying about college. So once again, was it worth it? Yes, but if I could start over, I know I could make it worth it but also much more pleasurable and memorable.