So much school, so little time

On average, students spend about 3.5 hours a night working on homework. Although this may not seem like a lot, it's only unsubstantial if school is the only contributing factor in your life. In order to keep up with the high demands of colleges, just attending, or even thriving, in school is not nearly enough. If you want to be accepted into a competitive college then on top of your 3.5 hours of homework, you also should be playing a sport, doing some sort of work, whether it is influenced by pay or strictly volunteer, and you are expected to not only participate in, but take a leadership role with some sort of extracurricular activity, such as a club. Studies show that in order for a high school student to be able to perform throughout the day, they should have gotten an average of  8.5 hours of sleep the night prior. In summation, a high school student is expected to attend school for seven hours, continue to do homework for another 3.5 hours, attend their job, focus on their extracurriculars, and take part in a sport in order to stay active and healthy. In my opinion, this is unrealistic. It just doesn't seem possible to maintain a healthy sleeping schedule, a satisfactory grade point average, along with having any sort of time to participate in any social events. That being said, I believe there should only be a certain amount of homework allowed each night. In a way, I think homework does take part in helping our memory store all of the things we learned throughout the day. However, this task can be completed without the excess busy work. If given the chance, many students can prove to be successful throughout their high school career without having hours worth of homework each night. As an alternative solution, teachers could also choose to make homework optional. This way, if the student feels unprepared in a class, then they have extra practice available to them. However, if a student feels as if they are fully informed on a certain unit, then the homework would be redundant to them. Although this may seem like a poor path for teachers to choose due to the belief that no student would do homework, we should be trusted to take care of our own education. High school is preparation for college, and the rest of our life in years to come. If we are given the power to make our own life decisions in the future, then making homework a choice would just be another way of preparing us for the real world.

s c a r c e

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r e v e r s e

Underground, surrounded by a plethora of dirt, worms, and mud. I can hear the clink of the shovel hitting the ground as dirt is being scooped out, shovelful by shovelful. I am whisked away into a long, black car, which brought me to the hospital. Slowly I am lifted out of my coffin and brought into the hospital. As the calender days increase, my temperature decreases. I feel myself slowly, but surely, regaining the energy and rejuvenation i had once felt as a young girl. I stepped out of the ambulance and was carried via stretcher into my house gaining my first view of the sunshine, and my first breath of the fresh October air.


Sitting outside on the lawn of my high school, looking up, and bracing for the impact as my graduation cap landed in my hand, and then was placed on my head. In the car i'm reminiscing through my adolescent years; remembering the friends i made, the grades i have worked hard to earn, and the bonds i have striven to make stronger. Between staying up all night to complete an essay, balancing my time between my parents and my friends in order to establish strong bongs with both my family and my peers, and watching as life passed me by, seemingly slowly, but actually much faster than i anticipated, my high school career was rather fulfilling, and something out of the ordinary.

The bell rings and i take my backpack out my cubby. I start my journey to my house and as I arrive i see my mom waving on the front porch with a camera in her hand. I make my way up to her and stand there smiling, while she takes as many pictures that will satisfy her, for she wouldn't dare to forget her little girl's first day of school. She and I then travel into the kitchen and sit down for breakfast together. We talk about what our days will entail; her busy day at work, and my eventful day full of "whats your name?" and "welcome to kindergarten!" As the conversation subsides I make my way up to bed, get my pajamas back on, and crawl under the covers, laying awake, anticipating the day i have ahead of me, knowing it marks the beginning of the long journey that will be my life.

Change in time

Every child has that one comfort item, whether it's a pacifier, blanket, stuffed animal, or some other object, this comfort item becomes their best friend for the first couple of years when making a friend isn't really a priority in their small, secluded lives. For me, I had a little pink stuffed bunny which was rather fittingly named; bunny teddy. When I was little, mostly between the ages of birth to three, that stuffed animal never left my side. I wouldn't sleep without it, or do anything without it for that matter. For some reason that stuffed animal brought me more happiness, comfort, and security than I could even fathom for those first few years. However, sadly, my perspective on this little pink bunny has changed completely. When I was little I used to worry about losing her, and wondering what I would do, but now, although it's kept in a safe spot for reminiscing as an adult, the thought of this sacred stuffed animal barely even crosses my mind. It's sad how something that once meant so much to me is barely even given a second thought anymore. My priorities have changed, and so have my obsessions, so it's awfully strange to think about how meaningless to me the things are now that used to seem so important, but I guess it's all about your perspective. A brighter side to this is that something that seems to be engulfing my life right now, probably isn't as crucial as it may seem. Taking a step back and getting a new point of view on a situation is refreshing, it helps you to get a better look at what first seemed life such an imperative issue at the time.

Perspective

We almost all have those childhood memories of spending time during the summer at the beach. Running into the water, playing in the waves, and then coming out and lying in the sun. For some, the sand is their home. They spend every waking moment soaking up the warm rays of sun beating down. However, I'm not sure everybody puts into consideration what's truly between their toes and under their feet while they're there. From our point of view, all sand looks the same. It's tan, it's warm, and it's the perfect set of ingredients for a sandcastle. Although you may have spent a considerable amount of time on the sand, I bet you haven't looked at it up close. What we're missing is that sand is composed of an array of bright and truly breathtaking shapes and colors. Can you imagine if we saw sand in the same way microscopes do? Can you imagine taking the long trip to the beach only to be astounded by this magnificent creation?Perspective is everything, and I'm sure there would be a lot more appreciation for the world around us if we took the extra time to stop and look, to observe, to take in the wonders that are right underneath us. Sometimes a little extra beauty is a lot closer than you would think.

Journeys

The best way to learn is through experience, and I believe traveling is one of the best ways to gain those experiences. Traveling helps you to further your knowledge of the world, as well as providing you with new and exciting experiences every day. My mom always told me "the more you travel, the more you learn", and she's absolutely right. I feel as if when my parents give me the opportunity to travel, not only am I having fun, but it helps me to further my education in a way that simply just cannot be justified in a classroom. To me, there's nothing more fulfilling in life than seeing the world. However, traveling to places may not always be the only way to fulfill the aspiration to learn that we all possess. Another way would be to just travel through your life, day by day. We all have our own set journey, and it's how we travel through these journeys that sets our individual blueprint for our future.