Work Hard Play Hard by Daniel

Work Hard Play Hard by Daniel - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

I like to say I’ve had a pretty successful high school career. Not only in the academic sense, but also in a number of other ways. I’ve made friends that will last me a lifetime and memories that I will never cease looking back on. Do you know how this is all made possible? Balance. Balancing your social life with academics. Balancing friends with family. Although it seems logical, many students will ignore this concept and never find the equilibrium between their studies and living their lives. The one piece of advice I would share with younger students is the idea of finding a balance between academics and enjoying high school.
In one of Wiz Khalifa’s many songs, he states, “Work hard, play hard”. Although it was most likely used in different context within the song, the idea is still relevant. Work hard throughout school to earn good grades and test scores; Play hard by enjoying high school and making friends and memories. Often times, students get so tied up in their studies that they forget to make time to “play hard’. In my own experience, finding the balance between academics and everything else has allowed me to discover some of my passions and to truly enjoy life. Nothing is wrong with taking some time to do something you love or to spark new relationships. In fact, this is actually quite beneficial. I found that by taking time to pursue things other than strictly academic work, I was able to reduce the amount of stress I was under which inversely brought my grades and standardized test scores up! Clearly, the benefits of finding your balance outweigh the drawbacks of finding it. Balancing your academics and your enjoyment can be tough, but in the end, it is certainly worth it. Just make sure you don’t play too hard!