Risking it all for Friends by Allison

Risking it all for Friends by Allison - May 2015 Scholarship Essay

One thing that I wanted to accomplish in college was to gain new friends and have a new fresh start. First semester of college I tried so hard to go out of my way to talk to people and try to gain new friends that I pushed homework aside. I started to hang out with friends all the time that I was having to do my homework late at night. Sacrificing my grades for my friends meant that I became a really good procrastinator. I once wrote a research project the night before within a couple of hours and got an A. The downside to procrastinating is getting stress and having anxiety. I began to realize that my health and grades are far more important than my friends. So I needed to set my priorities straight and eliminate procrastination.

To eliminate procrastination, I sat down with my friends and professors to see if they had any ideas. The first thing that I needed to do was to set my priorities straight. Friends don’t always last, but grades effect your future. I kept in touch with my friends by having late night euchre tournaments in the dorm and watching the free movies being presented at the Student Center. Then I got more use out of my planner by putting due dates and times when I needed to sit down and do projects before they are due. By making a few habit changes, I was able to get everything done and I ended up having more time to do things that I wanted to.

How to prioritize my life was probably the best lesson I learned my first year of college and it was all thanks to the people around me. Thankfully, I ended up with good grades and friends but if I had not of changed my ways I would have ended up with a bad start to my college career. College is all about making mistakes and trying to fix them. I made the mistake of risking my future and grades for friends but sometimes you need to reprioritize your life and make changes.