Hello everyone!

I’m only a sophomore in high school, yet I’ve spent many hours sifting through threads on Reddit and College Confidential. I started out with a purpose: to educate myself. I don’t have any older siblings to help me out with decisions like choosing the right classes, finding cool extracurricular opportunities, or anything related to high school and college admissions. These websites really opened my eyes to a world I had never been exposed to…but did I need to be exposed to it?

I’m thankful for the things I have been able to learn from these websites and articles, don’t get me wrong. There’s a lot of valuable advice and resources out there that have the potential to really help people who don’t have anyone else to ask. I’ve always dreamed of going to Columbia University- I’m not 100% sure if I will actually be interested in going there as I’ve never visited, but you get the point- I’m interested in high-caliber schools.

I never put too much thought into it; I knew it was near-impossible to get in, but I figured you just had to give it your best shot. I didn’t realize there could be so much strategy and planning- I thought you just worked hard in high school and kind of did whatever, then would apply and see if it ultimately worked out for you. These websites definitely proved that theory of mine wrong. I could see all these incredibly intelligent and talented people talking about the dozens of AP classes they were taking starting from freshman year, their world-class extracurriculars and awards, and their extremely high test scores.

On one hand, I was happy I had found these sites to show me I would have to step it up if I still wanted to go to an elite college, but on the other, I was completely overwhelmed. I felt so inferior with my one AP class (all of my other classes were honors if it was available) and my main extracurricular being my school’s freshman cheer team. How would I ever compete with people like this in the future? I started freaking out, looking for more ways to get involved, and yet I obviously still wasn’t up to par with any of these people.

Now, I had a new “problem”: I was just doing a bunch of random activities that didn’t relate to each other, and I didn’t have leadership roles in any. Just to set the record straight, I wasn’t joining activities just for the sake of my college freak-out- I was doing things I genuinely liked and wanted to do, I just started seeking them out because of the college freakout. Anyways, I’m still kind of struggling with this. I really don’t know what I love, I don’t have a “passion” or special talent I can just follow through with and prove my excellence in. I honestly don’t know what the heck I’m doing.

Then it came to comparing myself to my peers at school. Some people in my school are way more ahead because of taking classes over summer school that I either never thought to do or physically couldn’t do because of scheduling, and have way stronger extracurriculars because they either just have more of a sense of direction or because they got involved in a lot of things starting right in freshman year.

I’ve always done well in my classes and have taken all honors/AP when possible, but I’m still not as ahead as some people. Lots of people took a year of foreign language over summer to get ahead, some people are more ahead in math because they took geometry in middle school or over the summer (I skipped one year in middle school so I’m ahead, but not as ahead as these people who are now 2-3 years ahead), and some people are already in AP science courses because they took honors chemistry over summer, which I’m taking right now in my sophomore year since I was unable to over summer. Because of this, it seems like I have a way less impressive schedule (less APs, therefore a lower possible weighted GPA) and like I’m way less impressive in general compared to these classmates.

I was mad at myself for not being able to get ahead in those classes, I was mad at myself for not diving into activities I was interested in at the beginning of freshman year, and overall, I was mad at myself for not figuring out all of this sooner. I spent my weekends researching ways to find impressive extracurriculars and stand out, and I signed up to take AP Psychology online over summer since that was something I could fit into my summer schedule and I was interested in the subject. However, this didn’t change how I felt. The damage had been done- I was now in a mode of comparing myself to everyone around me and their best achievements.

I’m not going to lie- I still do this. I’ll spend some time scrolling through Reddit or CC once in a while, and I’m usually tempted to click on a “Stats that Got Me Into ____” video on YouTube. Honestly, I feel like I’ve already seen it all at this point; there’s no more damage that can be done, and if anything there’s just more for me to learn. I’m really working to stop comparing myself to these people- I have my own strengths, and focusing too much on the college process as a sophomore will only stress me out and hurt me.

I’m the type of person who fixates on things, so this sudden obsession with college admissions and needing to be a competitive candidate in the future definitely has stuck with me. Sometimes I wish I had never thought to look at those websites and try to keep up with everyone else, but it’s already happened and now I can only be thankful for the knowledge I’ve gained. I’m motivated to keep working hard throughout high school, and hopefully I will get to attend one of my dream schools. Also, I hate being that person who focuses on wanting to attend a prestigious school because I know prestige and rankings aren’t everything, but I’ve always loved learning and dreamed of going to a school with like-minded people who are driven to succeed.

If you’re an underclassman like me, PLEASE don’t go searching for college information and spend all your time on College Confidential and Reddit. It will make you crazy like it did to me. I know it’s hypocritical since I still spend time on those sites, but it’s because they do have some uses- use them sparingly and with specific questions in mind, if at all. I promise you will end up doing fine without them; just work hard, make the most of the opportunities available to you, and do things that you enjoy doing just for the sake of it.

-Brooke

Welcome back everyone!

I mentioned in my last post that the first quarter of the academic year is officially complete at my school, and I’m kind of in awe of that. The holidays are approaching, everyone is beginning to hit their stride and settle into routine, and I have to accept that I’m actually a sophomore.

Now that we’re at this point in the year, I wanted to talk a little bit about where my mind is at and how I’m feeling about school this year so far. I’m actually kind of conflicted on whether I think time is going by quickly or slowly, but either way- here we are! Homecoming and football season have passed, it’s about to be Halloween, the initial beginning of the year has passed. We’re really getting into the thick of the school year…where the work piles on.

One of the main things I’ve been thinking about lately is that at the moment, I’m not planning on doing cheer next year, meaning that right now I’m going through my last few months of doing a school sport and being on the cheer team. Cheer has been a huge part of my life both inside and outside of school since the beginning of eighth grade, and it’s weird to think that right now I’m experiencing some of my “lasts” in the sport- last homecoming as a cheerleader, last football game as a cheerleader, last rally as a cheerleader, etc. I feel like the weirdest part is all of these things are events I’ll still be attending, I’ll just be on the other side of the fence.

Even though I know that stopping cheer after this year is probably the best decision for me since it will alleviate some stress and free up some time in my busy schedule for other activities I enjoy more, I’m still reluctant to leave it. All of the other activities I’m currently doing I either started at some point in freshman year or later, whereas cheer I’ve been doing since the beginning of eighth grade, as I stated. It feels strange and sad to let go of the activity I’ve been doing the longest (and it makes me feel like a quitter/like I’m not committed to anything), but I have to shake those thoughts and remember it really is the right thing to do, at least for me.

Speaking of making the right decisions and alleviating stress, I’ve really been struggling with time management and finding a balance. I give lots of productivity tips on this blog and I talk about the importance of finding a balance, but this year my balance has been constantly teetering. Some weeks are insanely busy and I have no time to socialize, but others are super laid-back and I’ve been able to spend my whole weekend with friends. Some of it is bad planning on my end, but some of it is just how it is with the school events and my strict cheer schedule; it’s hard to figure out my individual schedule when I don’t actually have that much control over it.

School has definitely been a lot harder academically as well this year. I spend a lot more time doing homework, and even though I’m still doing well in my classes, I’m not excelling at the level I was last year. I just don’t have hours to put into studying anymore, and it doesn’t help that the content of my classes this year overall is harder. I’ve done my best to stay organized and I’ve gotten better at using the amount of time that I do have to study as effectively as possible, but it’s another issue with balance.

The last thing I want to add about these past ten weeks or so is that I’ve realized that everyone has their unique struggles. I know, I know- that’s a cliché that everyone says/knows. But guess what? It’s true. The reason I’m mentioning it here is because there’s been someone I’ve looked up to for a while- she just seemed like the perfect student and perfect at everything else she did. I’ve recently discovered that although yes, there are always going to be people that are smarter/prettier/funnier/more well-liked than you are, everyone really is going through their own self-comparisons and other issues. Remember that next time you catch yourself making comparisons, and have a wonderfully productive day!

-Brooke

Hello everyone!

I am now officially one quarter done with my sophomore year. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but time is flying by. I figured I would answer some common questions I hear or questions that I would’ve liked to ask before entering this year. If you’re a curious freshman or a sophomore just wanting to see someone else’s perspective, keep on reading.

• Is it a lot harder than freshman year? Unexpectedly, yes. I thought freshman year was hard in the moment, but academics-wise it was a lot easier. I was swamped with work from the first week of school this year. That being said, freshman year has its own challenges with the adjustment to high school and everything that comes with that, so I guess it kind of evens out.
• Do you really start to hate freshmen as soon as you’re not one anymore? Kind of. The whole joke/thing about hating freshmen isn’t really a major thing as I’ve mentioned before, but it’s definitely there. You begin to realize how much you’ve matured since being a freshman and how annoying you were last year when you see the incoming class, but it’s not like you automatically hate all of them. I’ve actually met a few really kind and amazing freshmen!
• Is it easier to get leadership positions/get involved? Definitely!! I think it’s more natural since you’re more familiar with all the activities and options available at your school. I’m kind of shy and not a natural leader in general so I haven’t really experienced this benefits of this, but I know a lot of people in my grade have been able to start clubs this year or initiate change in some other ways, which is pretty cool.
• Have you maintained a relationship with your freshman year teachers? I have, but not with all of them. My geometry teacher is currently on maternity leave, and I was never a big fan of my science teacher. That being said, I try and visit my English teacher often because I absolutely adored her and miss her class a lot, I have the same Spanish teacher as I did last year, and I tutor in the history center at my school which is run by my old AP Human Geo teacher so I still talk to him when I’m there. I really loved the majority of my teachers last year and I honestly do miss their classes, so it’s important to me to go catch up with them once in a while.
• Do sophomores have more school spirit? Some do, but honestly not the majority at my school. I was hoping we would since as freshmen everyone is clueless and doesn’t know whether it’s “uncool” to participate in spirit stuff, but I think it depends on the spirit “culture” at your school in general; our rival school is known to be amazingly spirited throughout all grades so the legacy always carries over, but our school is kind of known for being a bit lame with that stuff. Don’t get me wrong, the seniors are super spirited, but you still won’t catch the sophomores being even close to winning the spirit competitions.

These are just a few common questions I often pondered before the start of this year, so hopefully it can help some of you out there. Fellow sophomores- let me know if you agree or disagree with any of this and go class of 2022!

-Brooke