As I navigate the idea of applying to colleges, the overwhelming feeling that I am “not doing enough” creeps into my head on the daily. This however, could not be further from the truth. Every minute is booked with extracurriculars, sports or school work, as well as trying to have some type of social life.
A constant theme in discussions amongst friends and peers has been our packed schedules. However, amidst these packed schedules of clubs and various volunteer activities, I question the quality of our time spent. When it comes to extracurriculars and classes, we focus too heavily on quantity over quality. I think our high school experience would be better shaped by investing time into a few select activities rather than trying to pack in as much as we can to “pad” our applications.
It is not a flex to be busy. Packing your schedule with useless volunteer activities is not a reason to brag. We have all fallen victim to the “volunteer hours” scam, with parents and older peers advising us to get in as many hours as we can while we have the time. This time however would be much better spent on a few focused areas of personal interest rather than arbitrary volunteer hours. While idle hands might be the devil’s playthings, losing yourself and your priorities in the craziness of busy life is likewise dangerous.
Lacking the time for creative outlets or hobbies is not only unhealthy, but also just a sad way to exist. If we cut out the things we are truly passionate about for the constant influx of activities and to-do lists, we run the risk of losing what makes our experiences valuable and our memories worth looking back on.
Another pattern in our conversations of our busy lives is that of our “screen time.” The hours wasted pouring over useless videos and instant dopamine games is not what is going to make our high school experience worthwhile. With the limited hours in a day being filled with school and sports, coming home at the end of a long day for some means doomscrolling until it is time to start the homework that has been procrastinated.
When someone says to me “I have no time,” but has a screen time exceeding six hours a day I am left wondering where their priorities lie. We have 168 hours in a total week, about 35 of that is spent at school and another huge chunk spent on school related activities. Time spent sleeping is about 48 hours a week and another 30 hours a week is designated to scrolling and screen time. What you fill with your other 80 or so hours is up to where your priorities lie.