Take the Time Now; Trust Me, You Have It by Cara

Take the Time Now; Trust Me, You Have It by Cara - March 2019 Scholarship Essay

High school doesn't seem like it's full of time. It's going to be a huge shift from middle school. You're going to feel tired in the first few weeks; you're going to think that you're so tired and nothing could be more tiring.
Not to scare you, but you're extremely wrong.
You have more time now than you think you do. There are minutes every day that should be taken advantage of to give you the most time to work hard and still be able to relax at the end of the day
First; before-school. It’s tempting to wake up 5 minutes before classes start. But if you do that, you’re missing prime-time. This is a chance to talk to teachers; making strong relationships with them is important for the future. If you’re not feeling that nerdy yet; that’s okay! Use this time to talk to your friends. Mornings are the perfect time to get together. (But trust me on this one, by senior year, you will be hanging in a teacher’s room in the morning with a group of academically-focused students.)
Second; lunch and advisory. You will become an expert multi-tasker in high school, and lunch can be your battleground. Learning how to talk and socialize AND do work for classes. It seems awkward at first, especially if you came from a middle school that banned doing homework in the lunchroom, but trust me. It will save you after school time. Advisory can be tempting to spend on your phone. Foolish mistake. First, the connection in most classrooms is poor anyways. Second, it’s better worth your time to get a pass to an empty teacher’s classroom and socialize with friends or do work. Sitting in a quiet room with a strict teacher is NOT the wave, and will not do you any favors.
Third; after school. By this time of the day, if you’ve used lunch and advisory nicely, you will not have a huge load of homework on your back. This means, you have time to join clubs! Clubs and activities are the most important things you can be a part of in your high school career. First, they’re what makes you stand out to colleges. Second, they’re a perfect chance to explore interests that classes don’t cover. Maybe you want to be an engineer or a computer programmer. Trying robotics is a perfect way to start that interest. Clubs are worth your time, and they’re something that will help make your days feel more manageable even if they bite into your after school hours. (Also, if you have an interest that doesn’t have a club, our school is very open to the creation of new ones! Just come up with a solid plan and find a teacher to sponsor it and you are good to go!)
Fourth; homework. Make group chats for each one of your classes. That way, you can cut the time on hard problems and get help from your peers. Plus, you can test your ability on subjects by trying to teach others. Win win, time saved. (Just a note, this doesn’t mean copy. This means collaborate. Yes, there is a difference.)
If you use all these pockets of time wisely, you’ll be much better off than your peers. You won’t be the person posting on their Snapchat story at 3 in the morning complaining about having homework to do because they sat at home and watched Netflix for hours. You’ll be able to get twice the amount done in half the time, and if it’s really important to you, you’ll still have time to watch Netflix at the end of the day. But high school is the perfect place to start training to recognize small, useful bits of time, as when you get older, these pockets become the most important thing to look out for.