The Piedmont Highlander

The Student News Site of Piedmont High School

The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

You can set the thermostat and the barometer

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Course selection forms were due ten days ago, but that doesn’t mean that the details for the next year of your life have been cemented. There is still time to etch your initials or forever scratch your signature doodle. The concrete isn’t dry yet.

Just like the molecular balance in the physical world, balance in our lives is never static. Instead, it’s dynamic, a constantly shifting equilibrium. You are the thermostat, fully in control because you can adjust the temperature.

Unlike most of my friends who turned the dial to the high 90s, I kept the heat at a tolerable 76, and I urge everyone to find their preferred academic climate.

When signing up for my classes for junior year, I made the decision to take US History instead of APUSH because although I believed that I could survive the AP curriculum, the only convincing argument for me to take it was because it is weighted. This year, I decided not to take a science course because none of the remaining classes piqued my interest (so don’t fault me if the metaphorical science in my earlier paragraph doesn’t work).

Instead, I took psychology and a TA period, a choice that might not have looked as good as APES and AP Euro on my college applications, but I decided that my relaxation and happiness mattered more. I knew that I didn’t want to suffer through a class I wouldn’t enjoy just for the sake of a college application.IMG_1848

However, evaluating the motives behind why I did or didn’t want to take a class was the most important step in building my schedule. I could have joined my friends on a trip to academic Egypt by signing up for five AP’s, but instead I considered my interest in each class over what my classmates were doing.

Was I signing up because it was the common path, because of the grade boost? Or because I was excited about the material?

Because of my choice to take less rigorous schedules, my junior and senior years have involved relatively low stress levels, and I was able to find time to do what I enjoy. With my two AP courses, both of which I actively wanted to take, I’m not bogged down by endless readings on subjects that don’t interest me. I’m able to go to coffee shops with friends before school on Fridays, to tell my dog how adorable she is, and to watch more seasons on Netflix than I probably should. I also have more time in my day to focus on the classes that I chose to take, such as psychology and journalism.

Beyond academics, I have created a balance in my life, with plenty of time and energy to dedicate to the Etsy shop I started sophomore year. I found that throwing shotput and discus gave me an outlet for my competitiveness.

Extracurriculars are supposed to be fun or valuable in some way, and if they aren’t, there is no point in doing them. Finding a balance outside of school has proven to be just as important as the balance my academic life.

My academic climate hasn’t quite been the Bahamas for the past couple of years, but honestly, I would get bored if I were there for more than a week. What I have now doesn’t make me dream of an escape, although there were definitely more than a few snowstorms of essays and midterm. Whether you want to fly to Texas or stay right here in the Bay Area, you have the power and responsibility to find your own temperature, and it doesn’t have to match anyone else’s.

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