āScoffā āyouāre only taking one AP junior yearā¦ā Now this would be the first of many judgemental comments I would receive after choosing to take one AP class.
I canāt tell you how many times Iāve heard someone say, āThatāll look so good on your college application.ā Why does everything have to be about college? Iām not saying that I donāt think education is important, but the first thing that comes to mind when someone is passionate about an activity is to put on a piece of paper. Have we lost touch with reality?
Letās be real here (no pun intended,) college has become more than a goal, it's become peopleās only source of self esteem and unhealthy competition.
Obviously youāre competing with thousands of other students for a spot at a school. Itās gone way past that. People need to know what everyone else is doing so they can make sure to take harder classes to compete with you when applying to college. People brag about the fact that they take all AP classes and cry themselves to sleep at night. I think thatās a huge accomplishment, but taking hard classes is not an excuse to belittle someone else.
People can be smart in all different ways. You could be an incredible public speaker or talented singer. Just because you donāt have a 4.0 GPA does not mean you donāt have value.
I want to leave with one piece of advice. Donāt worry about what other people are doing. Focus on whatās best for YOU and what YOUāRE passionate about. College does not define success. YOU get to decide what you get to decide what you want your future to look like and how you get there.
Lindsey Shrager is a BBG from Pacific Western Region #44 who loves to travel and listen to Taylor Swift!
All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.