Cramming for good
by Nana Asante
Hopefully by the time this issue comes out, I have decided where I will be attending college and my fate after high school has been established.
If not, my gray hairs have tripled by now as I check my application status 20 times a day rather than ten. But if by now if I have decided between
UW-Madison and Duke University, I’ve quickly found something new to occupy my mind or keep me up at all hours of the night.
High school is one big balancing act: the opportunity to be as well rounded as possible by becoming involved in anything and everything while
we still have the time. People always wonder why it seems as though I’m constantly trying to cram every opportunity and activity into my schedule.
Despite the fact that some may think it is a shameful attempt to glamorize my next college application, it is actually simply because it is in my
nature to take advantage of as much as I can before the opportunities are no longer available, or I just don’t have time as I make my way through
college and multiple jobs as I get older. If not now, when will I get a chance later in my life to be an editor of the school yearbook and co-captain
of the track team at the same time? Never. I want to look back on my high school experience knowing there was more to me than doing just
enough to get by. I want to be able to look back and know that some of my best memories came from the hours I spent after school at track practice
or at newspaper layout nights. As I get older, cramming my passions into a daily schedule will become more of a chore than it will be a chance to
utilize my talents, time, and skills surrounded by my peers. I do what I do because I feel that I have something to offer or something to learn through
my involvement. To let that go to waste because it would be more convenient for me to be at home staring at the ceiling is unacceptable.
And the stress that comes along with being involved in activities I’m passionate about? I like to think of that as a sign my time is worth more than
aimlessly watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model or getting drunk most Fridays of my high school experience. It is not always easy, but there
is an unexplainable level of satisfaction knowing that I have to be at school by 7:45 on a Friday morning to help plan our next service project for
FCCLA. The truth is, we can’t all be so busy at such a young age that we can’t find time to spend an extra hour of our day becoming productive
and involved members of our society. My crammed schedule is about more than filling up space on a scholarship application. It’s working to strike
that balance myself before my secretarial job in a claustrophobic cubicle dictates what I do and when I do it. For me, it’s about making the most of
the time I have before I’m sitting in journalism 101 in college wishing I was at an after-school layout night for yearbook instead. So the next time I
walk through the school doors at 7:30 a.m. and leave at 6 p.m. I’ll remember that this blessing known as “cramming” is worth every moment of my
time.
Nana Asante is the editor-in-chief of Cat’s Eye, the Verona Area High School’s student newspaper.
Hopefully by the time this issue comes out, I have decided where I will be attending college and my fate after high school has been established.
If not, my gray hairs have tripled by now as I check my application status 20 times a day rather than ten. But if by now if I have decided between
UW-Madison and Duke University, I’ve quickly found something new to occupy my mind or keep me up at all hours of the night.
High school is one big balancing act: the opportunity to be as well rounded as possible by becoming involved in anything and everything while
we still have the time. People always wonder why it seems as though I’m constantly trying to cram every opportunity and activity into my schedule.
Despite the fact that some may think it is a shameful attempt to glamorize my next college application, it is actually simply because it is in my
nature to take advantage of as much as I can before the opportunities are no longer available, or I just don’t have time as I make my way through
college and multiple jobs as I get older. If not now, when will I get a chance later in my life to be an editor of the school yearbook and co-captain
of the track team at the same time? Never. I want to look back on my high school experience knowing there was more to me than doing just
enough to get by. I want to be able to look back and know that some of my best memories came from the hours I spent after school at track practice
or at newspaper layout nights. As I get older, cramming my passions into a daily schedule will become more of a chore than it will be a chance to
utilize my talents, time, and skills surrounded by my peers. I do what I do because I feel that I have something to offer or something to learn through
my involvement. To let that go to waste because it would be more convenient for me to be at home staring at the ceiling is unacceptable.
And the stress that comes along with being involved in activities I’m passionate about? I like to think of that as a sign my time is worth more than
aimlessly watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model or getting drunk most Fridays of my high school experience. It is not always easy, but there
is an unexplainable level of satisfaction knowing that I have to be at school by 7:45 on a Friday morning to help plan our next service project for
FCCLA. The truth is, we can’t all be so busy at such a young age that we can’t find time to spend an extra hour of our day becoming productive
and involved members of our society. My crammed schedule is about more than filling up space on a scholarship application. It’s working to strike
that balance myself before my secretarial job in a claustrophobic cubicle dictates what I do and when I do it. For me, it’s about making the most of
the time I have before I’m sitting in journalism 101 in college wishing I was at an after-school layout night for yearbook instead. So the next time I
walk through the school doors at 7:30 a.m. and leave at 6 p.m. I’ll remember that this blessing known as “cramming” is worth every moment of my
time.
Nana Asante is the editor-in-chief of Cat’s Eye, the Verona Area High School’s student newspaper.
