Well, I'm down to less than three months of high school left before I pack up and ship off to college. In my time as a senior, I have learned two things that are the best two pieces of advice I have ever been given. One is to work hard, but take some time to have fun and the other is that everyone is different and therefore, not all advice is good for each individual person.
Take extracurricular activities for example. Trying to participate in everything is good and shows colleges that you are active in many things, but not keeping your grades up also shows colleges that you can't handle everything on your plate. Don't just join a club or activity to pad your resume because it could end up being more harmful than helpful.
Also, advice that is good for one person is not necessarily good for another person. Many people say that a good way to fight senioritis is to stay busy and take a hard class load and for some people, that might help. For other people on the other hand, including myself, it is a pain. Listening to that advice was a bad decision. I elected to take five AP classes, band, and newspaper, and now I am one very unhappy senior. I wish that I would have cut down on the number of AP classes I am taking now that senioritis is really kicking in.
Finally, don't spend all of your time studying, working, scholarship searches, and participating in extracurricular activities. Have some fun. It's your senior year and you should be allowed to have some fun.
While some advice is good, not all advice is good for every person. The best piece of advice you can give a person is to just go with the flow and learn from your mistakes. Make your own decisions. They don't need to always be based on the advice of others.
Now you know the true definition of advice: "somebody’s opinion about what another person should do." "Opinion" is the key word there (smile).
You are absolutely correct. . . advice is not 'one size fits all'. This is why it is important that, if you are seeking advice at all, you seek it from, a) well informed 'been there, done that' individual's and, b) more than 1, 2 or, even 3 individuals.
Eventually you will find out though, your senior year will become a blur and you have many, many years to make up for whatever it is you think you're missing. If this is any consolation, you have learned a very important life lesson quite early; never put more on your plate than you think you can handle at any one time! You should always factor in 'me' time no matter what you're doing; be it a job, school, parenting, etc.
I wish you much success in your future endeavors. You are already waaaay ahead of the game than many of your peers!
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"Truths Are The Roots To Trust"
I completely agree with you that you shouldn't overexert yourself senior year- you should take the time to enjoy your last year of high school. Take it from someone who also took a ridiculous number of AP's and had too many extracurriculars. However, at the same time, I see so many kids who slack off way too much. I know some people who have two off periods and a teacher aid, taking only the bare minimums. They've dropped math and science and will be ridiculously unprepared for college. Enjoy your final days as a senior but don't let it turn into glutton!
I agree. I took five AP classes last semester out of seven classes. I decided to cut it down to three this semester and take some classes that I want to take, not have to take for graduation requirements. I got those all done early.
http://progressiveu.org/160921-self-nostalgia
i think the hard workload works for me personally. i'm staying motivated (but then again, it's only september..)