Iam asophomore in high school. Although Istill have more than half of high school left, Iknow that Ihave made some life-changing decisions in the past two years. The best decision was to run cross country in the fall. Iam by no means agood runner, but in 8th grade I decided to give cross country achance and signed up along with afew of my friends. As Iwas giving up my time to play a sport, Iwas incredibly worried about the upcomingworkload. As the oldest child, I’ ve always gotten information about upper grades through my friends’ siblings, and one of the most prevalent facts about Ridgewood High School was that the amount of homeworkyou received would be nothing like before. If you went to bed before midnight, even as afreshman, you were lucky. This terrified me. As someone who struggled to stay up past 10 p. m., Ifigured that 9th grade wasn’ t going to be fun.
Summer ended quickly and soon enough, Iwas at anew school with a ton of work. Still, Ifoundmyself going to practice every day even whenIhad aseemingly massive amount of homework. As one week turned into two, andthen into amonth, and then two months, Irealized that what Ihad heard wasn’ t entirely true. Sure, Ihad more work than previous years, but there was neveranight where Ihad to stay up until 3a. m. just to finish homework.
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Iwon’ t lie, there were definitelydays where Itold myself that Ihad to quit cross country and there was no way Iwould put myself throughthis ever again. When the season endedthough, Ifound myself thinkingthe exact opposite. Ihad learnedsomany valuable lessons.
The first was how to manage my time and perfect my study techniques. Some days Iwould come right home from practice, showerquickly, startmy homework, eat dinner, finish my homework and then studyfor any upcoming quizzes or tests. In the beginning of the year, this pattern would be full of 30-minute long breakswhere Iwould sit on my phone and do anything to avoid working. As time went on and the workload increased, Istarted to check my phone less and less.
One of the best strategies Iformulated was to put my phone in adifferentroom beforestarting my work. Although my phone was nearby, Ididn’ t hear it buzz every time Igot anotification and was much less tempted to checkit. This greatly helped me improve my study habits.
The most ironic thing that happened was that afterthe season ended, my grades started to drop when Ihad expected the exact opposite. Ithink it was because of all the free time Inow had and Istarted to go backtomyold habitsofcheckingmyphone too often, and being less productive. Ifound it
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interesting that when I had less time available Iactually accomplished more.
Iknowcross country isn’ t for everyone, but Ithink everyone should consider trying something new, especially in the fall. Trust me, Iwould have never thoughtIwouldsay that, but now Ican’ t imaginethe fall without cross country.
If you find asport, club, instrument, or any other activity that you have the slightest interest in, go for it. Sure, there may be days where you want to drop everything and break down. But once you finish, you will be stronger. Along with that, you will meet great people who share acommon interest. There have been multiple occasions where I’ ve found myself running alongside people who Iwould have never known otherwise. At the end of the season, we are sad that we won’ t be spending every afternoon together, running rain or shine.
You don’ t have to be the besttohave agood time, but in ways you don’ t even realize, every activity will help you. ●
– JACOB ALVARADO RIDGEWOOD
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COURTESY OF THE ALVARADO FAMILY |
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8 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2017 |( 201) FAMILY |
201magazine. com |