As an incoming college freshman, I tend to look back at my years in high school and think about how fast it went by. All that time I spent studying at school and working at home finally got me a high school diploma and many acceptance letters, and it still feels surreal that I'm finally done. However, if there was one big thing I realized in those four years of juggling all of my academics with my extracurricular activities, it's that kids nowadays do not learn in the way that we think.

Technology is rapidly advancing and so is our school's curriculum. Students are exposed to more resources and given more opportunities to grow and learn, but these gifts also allow for more competition. Teenagers at school are taking more advanced classes and are putting more on their plate than ever before-- but the question is, are they really doing this to learn?

Most school settings work the same way. Kids are assigned work from their textbooks, they memorize whatever they're supposed to, and they regurgitate that information onto tests and quizzes. So when students willingly take as many advanced classes as they possibly can, are they doing it to learn the actual content of the class or are they trying to boost their GPA?

Although advanced classes look really good on a transcript, they are not the only things that colleges look at. How many times have you heard a club or afterschool program try to lure you in as a member by saying their activity "looked good on a college application"?

I admit that I was indeed a victim of being the type of student that would be too involved in my academics and extracurricular activities for the sake of applications and class rank. But when I think back to my high school years, it's tough to say that a majority of my time in school were not ones that I enjoyed. I was my own critic. I constantly beat myself up for trying to balance more and more work with my education in order to "be the best". I look back at certain situations where I knew I wasn't particularly interested in whatever I was signing myself up for, but I did it anyway because I knew I was capable and I knew that schools liked more. More was better-- and I wanted to be the best.

The problem is that competition is generated by our generation, but it doesn't have to be that way. Students should not have to feel as if they need to attend a top university, or be shunned for taking a different path. Students should not have to feel that they need to be on the top of their school to get a good education and to really learn from their classes. Students should not have to feel pressured to do every possible thing a high school kid can do to go to a great school and have an amazing future.

As a graduated high school student and future college freshman, I look back at my high school years and wish that I took things slower. I'm lucky enough to have found two extracurricular activities that really impacted me as an individual, but that should've been enough. If you are in high school right now, my advice to you is this: make the most out of your high school years. Step out of your comfort zone and try new things, but be involved in things you are actually passionate about. Focus on your studies, but don't overload yourself. Live every moment to its fullest so that one day, you can look back at your high school years and name plenty of memories you were fond of.

Being that well-rounded, straight A student doesn't always help you grow as a person; but finding that spark in high school and being your personal best does.