Ya Gotta Risk It by Raven

Ya Gotta Risk It by Raven - November 2014 Scholarship Essay

High school is one of the best learning experiences you will go through in life. Besides math and science and history, you learn so many things in those short, four years – things about yourself, things about others, and things about life in general. The only stipulation is that to learn these things, you need to take risks. I spent my first three years so afraid of trying new things and of failure that I missed out of so many amazing opportunities. It wasn’t until senior year that I realized the importance of putting yourself out there and trying new things – regardless of how familiar you are with them.

Try out for a sport. If you’re not the most athletic person, try something like bowling or even track. I knew so many people in high school who ended up being amazing at pole vaulting and javelin – something they knew absolutely nothing about and only tried it once.

Join clubs! If there’s something that interests you, by all means join in. It’s a great way to meet people and feel involved. If there’s not a club that you’re interested, make one! I joined a club senior year that started off with maybe ten people and by the time I graduated, we could barely fit in a classroom for meetings.

Talk to the people next to you in class – they may become your next best friend. Ask someone to homecoming or prom. Go to football games and cheer as loud and proud as the seniors. Take the SAT one last time and see if you can perfect your score. Take that challenging AP class. Even if you don’t get an A, it’ll prepare you for college classes and make you a better student! Apply to your reach college even if you don’t think you stand a chance. Wouldn’t you rather have tried and failed than wonder about what may have happened if you just gave it a shot?

High school is all about trial and error. If you fail, brush it off and try something else. If you succeed, that’s amazing! High school can be the best four years of your life. If you spend them doing the absolute minimum just to get by – they won’t be! If you step outside your comfort zone, just a little bit, you can open yourself up to so many great experiences. You know what they say, you gotta risk it to get the biscuit.