My Advice For Future High Schoolers

Why you should worry about grades... but not too much

As you could've guessed, grades are the most important part of high school. They are the whole reason why you are here. They should be close if not your number one priority. With that said, they should be focused on but not obsessed over. It isn't healthy to stress non-stop over anything, especially grades. This chapter will break down everything you should know about grades.

Why do grades matter? Grades matter, simply because they will decide a good chunk of your future. Thinking into college, if your GPA is low, chances are that the college either won't accept you or they will accept you with no scholarship. This sucks! College is expensive and a lot of people get a lot of student debt to pay for it even with good grades and a job. This shouldn't discourage you but it is something to keep in mind. Next time you are thinking, "I won't ever use this in life. Why should I have to learn it?" Just know that you should learn it because you will be tested on it, and those tests will make up your grades, and your grades will make up a part of your future. The better grades you have the more likely you are to be accepted, and the more likely you are to get a scholarship. This will help you pay for your college. 

Why you shouldn't over-stress about your grades. Grades, Grades, Grades. It's all you hear about from parents, councilors, teachers, and friends. This is because they are very important. But at the same time, stressing over your grades won't help anyone either. You need to find a balance that you can live life and be happy, and maintain good grades. For me this looked like taking standard classes, (Not concurrent classes or honors) because standard classes were still hard enough for me, and taking these standard classes meant that I would have less work to do which in turn brought my stress levels down which made me happier and healthier. For me this was worth it because while I may have not been pushing myself to my max, I was still learning and growing and ultimately I'm coming out of high school with a great GPA and with good scholarships in line for me.

In summary, it is all about finding a balance. You need to be growing and learning but you also need to be happy and healthy. If you are up every night cramming in homework and you aren't happy, then your life conditions suck. If you aren't learning and you are floating through high school, then you aren't growing and you are selling yourself short. Maybe that doesn't mean getting all honors classes but maybe that means taking a harder elective that you are interested in. For me, it meant taking marketing, something I was interested in and something that I would push myself in. This was my happy balance that I hope all of you can find in your high school careers too.