When people look at the success of a high school student, I feel that many people would consider a high GPA as the most important aspect in determining the level of success of a student. Although a high GPA reflects how well a student has done in school, achieving a high GPA while being involved in various extracurriculars shows that a student can balance their classes, along with their different interests. In my case, I have a very strong interest in band, chorus, and theater arts. These activities are very demanding and time-consuming on my schedule; and I have to try to find the right balance with keeping up with my classes, along with participating in my favorite activities. I’ll admit it would be much easier to achieve good grades if I didn’t have to attend rehearsals and practices almost every night of the week; but this has taught me a very valuable life lesson, which is learning how to manage my time.
I also am very involved in various clubs in my high school, including Robotics Club and the Academic Team. Both of these clubs help to enhance my knowledge, which also help me to achieve better grades. I recently got involved with Student Council, which has helped me to learn leadership skills and also how to work with others to achieve our goals to help our fellow students.
Some of my favorite extracurricular activities play a big role in helping to develop good character, empathy, and compassion. These clubs are The Diversity Club, Friends Forever, and Aevidum. Although being involved with these clubs doesn’t take up much of my time, we still do various events and activities throughout the school year to help improve the lives of others. With my Friends Forever club, we organize and run a special needs track and field event annually, which involves many high schools in our county and even outside of our county. This is a great way to give back to your community, which I feel is a very important thing to learn. We also do various events with the Diversity Club; and most recently we visited the National Holocaust Museum in Washington DC.
To summarize, I strongly feel that every student should try their best to obtain a high GPA to ensure their future academic success. However, being involved in various extracurricular activities, from sports and band to various clubs, helps you to learn many valuable life lessons, including being a team player, managing your time, showing empathy and compassion to others, and just having fun and forming good friendships with others.