As the summer approaches, it’s time to start thinking about how to spend it. That means something different for each person whether it’s going on vacation or billing more hours at a job. Summer is meant to be a relaxing time where school is a fleeting thought, however, that isn’t the case for everyone. As high school students (especially teens attending a college preparatory school), the looming idea of college and how to choose the “right” one can bring a lot of pressure.

Many believe that the key to getting into a good college is to be in all honors classes, do three varsity sports or star in a play, play an instrument, volunteer, and do many more extracurricular activities.  For those that enjoy doing all of those at once, go for it. If an abundance of school work and activities and classes makes you happy, by all means do them. But for most, happiness doesn’t equate to having a heavy workload and doing activities with the sole objective of looking good for college. This can have serious drawbacks and even affect how time is spent with family and friends. Taking a class that is hard and uninteresting puts unnecessary stress on the student. Go for quality and not quantity. Why put in all that work to succeed in a class that isn’t even enjoyable? Similarly, doing extracurricular activities that students don’t like to do causes even greater stress if a student is taking hard classes for college applications. This isn’t to say that calculus or physics should be cast off to the side once requirements are met but rather, when you have the option, choose something that you love.

In reality, a lot of privilege comes with being able to attend St. Paul Academy. Thanks to the school’s rigor and caring teachers, no matter what classes students take, they will get into a college or program that they love. It’s pointless to place so much unnecessary energy on doing something if isn’t something that students like. It can lead to mental health decline, a false and dangerous definition of what it means to work for the things you want, and less time to do things that you actually like to do.

Instead, focus on the classes and activities that you enjoy and can grow from as a student. If you don’t know what you like to do, try new things that sound genuinely interesting and fun. Once you find that thing that you love, stick with it and be the best that you want to be at it.