Dear parents,     

I understand you only want what’s best for me. You tell me to brush my teeth every night, grab a jacket because it’s cold outside, and clean my room. You also never fail to tell me to balance school, work and extracurriculars. But let me tell you one thing, it’s harder than it looks.

I’d like to make a disclaimer first. You have raised me to be goal oriented, intelligent and gave me just about the highest work ethic you could. I am entirely grateful for you because you put me on the right path, I see students who aren’t as lucky.

Now, ever since first grade you knew I would eventually become a honors student. I was the fastest reader in my whole grade and I could add numbers quicker than most. It was amazing being ahead. I loved hearing you brag about me to our neighbors or your friends. It encouraged me to continue on and try my hardest. So I worked my way up to seventh grade Honors Math. Which eventually turned into taking Geometry as a freshman, and that led to taking Honors Algebra II as a sophomore. Not to mention I mixed those in with the highest English classes available. Oh, let’s not forget about choosing Honors Biology instead of regular Biology. Did I tell you I’ll soon be taking my first AP class as well?

I also do extracurriculars because, why wouldn’t I? I’ve been playing flute in band since I was in fifth grade, and this year I decided to take on Robotics. Only two clubs, that doesn’t sound like much. But let me show some of my quick math skills first.

Band is a class that consists of practicing and concerts. The summer is our marching season which means twice the amount of practice and more performances than ever. Concert band adds up to around ten hours of practice and ten hours of performing total. Marching season is double that.

Robotics is new to me, but I have a pretty clear idea of how much time it takes up. Meetings every other day, sometimes more if it’s competition week. That adds up to ten or more hours each week that I spend working with others to perfect not only our robot but our team.

There are 24 hours in a day, and I wish there were 50. I wish I had enough time to study for every class I have, practice music, and research robots. Truth is, I do. It’s definitely possible to maintain everything I have. It’s called time management. A real, achievable concept. But my soul feels drained after doing it. I go straight to bed, being too tired to even create scenarios in my head like I used to do when I was younger. Then when I wake up, I go through the same mind wrecking routine. Physically, I can fit everything in one day, but my mental health can’t.

I’m not saying I want to give up. You raised me too well for that. This is only a wake-up call to you. I know I walk through the house with my head held high like everything is going as I planned. It isn’t, but I continue on because life won’t just slow down for me. I will keep going at this rate, I will learn time management, and all of it will be worth it after I’ve reached my goals.

Just please understand when I take my free days seriously. It isn’t because I’m lazy, it’s because I seldom have those.