Choir Craziness by Paola

Choir Craziness by Paola - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

These past few months I’ve been struggling as a Junior in high school. I’ve been struggling with balancing my Magnet classes with my AP workload. Recently as my choir has been preparing for many important conferences and competitions, the time we spend in rehearsals is more than I was initially prepared for though.

While trying to balance my AP classes ,which have allowed me to maintain a 3.5 GPA that I’m very proud of, and working hard to be a leader in my choir section I realized I started to accept mediocrity. In prior years I would be on top of all my work and often come out a top student on tests. This year on the other hand, when I would take an AP Calc test I wouldn’t take the time out of my day to review, because “oh well I’m bad at math so I’ll get a C and be done with it”. In between rehearsals I also started to catch myself missing deadlines and turning in my work days after it was due, for a lower grade. Because of the stress of preparing for these events, I started to get comfortable getting bad grades.

Pretty soon I started feeling burnt out and I prayed everyday for Thanksgiving break, so I could breathe even a little bit. The break came and went, but I did not stay idle, I learned a few important things. After a few days of vacation I finally remembered my reason for studying hard and being in choir at the same time. I genuinely love taking time out of my day to study and sing with my classmates. I stopped seeing studying as a bad thing that I wanted to avoid until the very last minute, and instead I created a list of priorities in my mind. I realized that I did not have to sacrifice my grades for my magnet class. I decided to take time to practice my music AND study for my exams. With all of this in mind I started school again and instantly saw the increase in my grades again.

Recently I had a rehearsal until 8 pm for a show the next day. I also happened to have my AP Calc Unit 3 test that very next day, worth 3 grades. Instead of getting home, going to sleep (since I was totally drained), and praying I remembered how to find the concavity of a function from a derivative, I studied. I took time. I knew if I put in effort I could study and be done by 12 am, and that’s what I did. The next day I took the test and it was the easiest test I’ve taken in a while. I’m glad I allowed myself to push past my limits and embrace perseverance. I’m now reminded to never accept mediocracy when I’m aware I can be extraordinary.