How To Succeed by Katherine Minish

When I got to high school, I thought it was going to be one big party. In my four years here, I have experienced a lot of different situations, some good and some bad. One experience I’ve had is not getting the credits I need. The reason I didn’t get my credits is because I was playing around. I would sleep in class, and if I wasn’t sleeping, I was playing around with friends. I had only six credits at the end of my freshmen year because I chose to play around so much. I had fun and never did any work. The only assignments I turned in were the tests I did in class. I passed most of the tests I took but failed to pass the classes. I did some work during the class but never turned it in. The teacher didn’t tell us to turn it in and I didn’t think about it, nor did I do it most of the time.

I finally realized that I had to do work and pay attention in class in order to graduate, that a diploma was actually in my reach, and that I had gone too far in school to just mess up and not finish what I started. The person who helped me to learn how to balance my work and have fun in class was a literature/composition teacher here at Cedar Shoals. He always told me to do my work. He said it was ok to play as long as I worked while I played. I, of course, didn’t listen at first, but then I got what he was saying, I started doing my work and now I am on track to graduate.

I have learned that there is a balance between work and play, and the line between work and playing is so little but it means so much to not be on one extreme or the other. I have also learned that just because you don’t want to hear something doesn’t mean that you don’t need to and that it won’t help you get to where you are trying to go.

I think everyone who reads this can take something from it and apply it to their daily lives. Everyone needs balance; it could be balance between working and playing, between working and spending time with family friends and a boyfriend/girlfriend. Everyone needs balance.

The best way to maintain the work and play is to complete the assignment and then play. The first thing you should do is the assigned task. You can even get your friends to do their work first then both of you play when the assignment's complete. Freshmen year is when you have to see that doing your work is in your best interest. If you choose to play and not work, you won’t get credit and graduate. So be sure to do your work and take my advice. Get the credits the first time and don't waste your time taking a class more than once. Good luck over your four years of high school. I hope you prosper and grow both in intelligence and as a person.