The schoolwork load is ramping up and students are stressed. Whether it be rushing to get assignments in or running to the finish line, students are juggling many things. Extracurriculars can get in the way of a student’s academic life. If students focus on extracurriculars too much, they may have to ask for extra credit, something that is rarely granted these days. Given this dilemma, some students shared their thoughts about how they fit extracurricular activities into their school schedule.
“In order to juggle my sports, mainly football, with rigorous school work, I need to be locked in and use my free time to do homework and sleep,” said junior Luke Hansen. Hansen expressed how he needs to be extra focused on his homework when he finally has some free time after his hard core football schedule. Sleep is crucial to a student’s academic success, and Hansen thinks he also needs to find some time to sleep after all his work is done.
Junior Aaron Wang expresses how his extracurricular activities are actually helpful for him. Wang stated, “I think that doing cross country didn’t conflict with my homework time, but instead it built my character, and developed my mental strength. It is important to get a good GPA, but it is also crucial to embrace challenges that could potentially benefit our future.” Instead of stressing about getting schoolwork done after an extracurricular, Wang believes that it is important to do what you like and live in the moment. Academics aside, Wang also believes that, “life is not just about school, but also about our social life.”
“Personally for me, doing extracurriculars after school is more like a fun activity, and I do CompSci on weekends. But if you [have] too much extracurriculars, then it will overwork you more than actually doing fun extracurriculars, and it will definitely interrupt your schoolwork,” said junior William Zhao. Zhao takes on his extracurricular activities on the weekends in order to reduce his stress and enjoy his spare time. Zhao feels that his extracurricular activities do not get in the way of school, but can see how they might for others.
Too many extracurricular activities can stress students out when it comes to getting schoolwork done, but some believe that there can be a happy medium. Juggling after school activities and school can be a hard task for many, but some students are able to take control of both. Extracurricular activities also push a student to work harder in life. “After school activities are crucial for developing a tough mind to potentially face a challenge,” said Wang.
