The yin and yang
Like yin and yang, everything lives in harmony. It’s not about which one. It is about balance. It took me a long time to understand, and when I understood about balance, I was better at keeping my GPA high and having strong extracurriculars while enjoying every moment. But how did I find the balance? And how do you keep it?

When I was in elementary school, I was a biased child. Everything was black and white. I assumed learning was wrong and focused on extracurricular activities more because extracurricular activities make you fit and connect with your friends. I was getting along with my friends. But my GPA dropped so low that my teacher ashamed me in front of everybody. I lost my friends, and my parents were mad because of how I was performing in school. Around middle school, my family and I decided to keep me away from my abusive teacher and friends. From then on, I understood studying is dire and without it. I can’t perform well in society. I did socialize but wasn’t into extracurricular activities and tried to get a high GPA all day. Because I didn’t pay much attention to elementary school classes, my GPA was considerably lower than everyone else’s. Depression and anxiety followed me like a shadow because I focused on my GPA solely. My GPA was no better because I was dealing with bullies. The good news was I backfired and defended myself because I used to do extracurricular activities. Years passed, and I was the one who accused as a bully. It was pure chaos until I watched “Kung Fu Panda 3.” I found a missing puzzle in my life. The yin and yang, I saw it many times but didn’t pay attention to the dots or the eyes. When yin and yang spins, you can see the third color. The third color, there’s good in bad, bad in good.

Before I reached high school, I promised to achieve a high GPA and do extracurricular activities while not studying. At the start of the 8th grade, my GPA ranked #10. Then, the next semester was #2 out of 40 students. Everyone was cheering for me. I was no longer a geek or a bully. In the end, my classmates and teacher awarded me a certificate of an exemplary student and voted as class president. My priority was to focus on my GPA first and then extracurricular activities as a second. However, there were unnecessary third activities that could’ve affected my performance, such as phone addiction, video games, p*rn addiction, late-night movies, etc. When I was about to fall into that third unwanted activity, I changed my priority to extracurricular activities more than my GPA. I swapped them over to maintain a high GPA and social life.

For those who find similar problems in my essay, seek remedy rather than fault. Everything is within you, not outside. I passed the level 1 life test because I worked with myself. Live in the present. “Yesterday was a history. Tomorrow will be a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called a present.” Master Oogway.