Home Sweet Homework

     As the first quarter of my ninth grade year comes to a close, I realize how different middle school is from high school. With the end of the quarter comes lots of homework, last minute tests, and quarter finals. In middle school, there was some extra homework, maybe a test in two classes, and very few quarter finals. From reading a memoir to memorizing Spanish vocabulary, I am now realizing that I really did sign up for a challenge.

     I went to a private school called The Colby School for elementary school. There, I was always challenged. If something was too easy, the teachers would make it harder. I moved to the public school system for middle school, and I haven’t been challenged a lot since then. I was even in all of the advanced classes that they offered. Some of my teachers have tried, but nothing challenged me as much as these past couple weeks have.

     This year, I signed up for all the honors and AP classes that I could, and along with that I am in the advanced math class and two years ahead in Spanish. I knew it would be hard to balance with gymnastics, but I was ready for a real challenge. Up until now, it hasn’t been that much different, except the information has been more interesting. Now, I am struggling to get my work done and get to bed at a reasonable time every night. Some nights I wonder if I made a mistake, and if I bit off more than I can chew.

My To-Do List for a typical day this week

     Since this is a gymnastics blog, you might be wondering how gymnastics ties into this. My team is about two months away from starting competition season, and we are nowhere close to being ready. Next week, we have our first practice meet, or "intersquad" of the season. If it weren't for this, I would think about leaving gym an hour early to have more time to do my work. I am only prepared for two events for the intersquad, so this is out of the question. With challenges come choices, and this is a difficult choice that I have had to make.

     Even though this week has been difficult, I have also had a lot of fun. I have learned a lot of new, very interesting information that I couldn’t have learned if I didn’t have such a difficult schedule. Because of this, doing the homework is more exciting and somewhat easier to do.

     Through these past couple of weeks, I have re-discovered what it means to be challenged. I have also learned a lot about myself - time management skills, dedication, and that I will never give up. So what if there are a couple of late nights? So what if I have sacrificed all of my free time to do homework? The benefit from this challenge is worth far more than everything the challenge sets in my way. The benefit - gaining interesting and important knowledge - is worth every stone in the road. To me, this knowledge is worth so much that I know I would make the same “mistake” again if I had the chance.