Keep the Engine Chugging by Jesus

Keep the Engine Chugging by Jesus - May 2014 Scholarship Essay

High school is generally a time of learning experiences, typically through failures and faults, for teenagers. Teenagers usually think they know it all and can survive in the world if need be, but more often than not, we don’t. That is where older, more experienced people come in, to help us get to know how the world works. Some adults and young adults like to spoon feed teenagers information and hold their hand through trials, but others don’t like that. Others give kids advice, and let the person do what they want with that advice, whether it be good or bad. Now, in my life I’ve received lots of advice, both about education and life. Some good, some bad, but what was the best?

Educational and school wise, I have never had much difficulty. Even when I forget to study or get caught up with something else, I always find a way to get by. That leads into the best piece of educational advice I have received in my young life, something I will take with me hopefully for the rest of my life. That is to not take it too seriously; too many times do I see my fellow students become fumed out and absolutely exhausted because they feel like they need to get all 95 or higher in their classes, or because they overexert themselves with AP classes and extracurricular activities. My parents have always instilled in me that I shouldn’t force myself to go until the engine explodes, but to find a good, healthy balance where I work hard, but allow myself time to recharge and refocus myself.

Not taking the educational system too serious, but serious enough, has helped me through high school and allowed me time to really find out who I was and figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. If I had taken all AP classes or dug myself into holes too deep to climb out of with extracurricular stuff, I would never have had time to figure myself out. Now, I take my education very seriously, I don’t go to school to mess around all day and waste money, I go to learn and put our money to good use. The difference, however, is that I have been able to find a healthy balance in my life with everything. Because I knew high school isn’t even close to the peak, and thus not taking it as serious as others do, I have been able to get through unscathed by mental exhaustion and hopeful of the future. I have nowhere to look but up because of that piece of advice, taking it as I have. I will go into university hopeful, energized, and ready to learn, with my mind and body healthy and rested over summer, but also with the knowledge of how to manage time and create a healthy balance in my life.