It’s sad to say that the world and schools in particular have come to a point where competition is the definition of whether or not one gets into college. As unfair as this can sometimes be, the fact of the matter is that is how it works and at this point in time, there is little room for change. However, just because people attend school at CHS doesn’t give them the right to just throw all their schoolwork in the air and say “Whatever” or “I’m not doing this” because these acts are completely stupid.

We attend one of the top schools in the country and   a school that fifth in the state. Shouldn’t that convince us, that there is reason to try? It is as if the school is divided into two separate categories: those who want to work and take all college-level course and play sports, volunteer and those who do nothing and expect college recommendation and scholarships to appear out of thin air. School is not as simple as it was when our parents were in school. That’s not to say they didn’t have to work incredibly hard to get where they are. However, in-state schools are getting harder to get into because people who are not from top level school districts are amping up their game and working incredibly hard to meet these standards, while on the other hand some of us in top tier schools are sitting around slacking. I’m not trying at all to point fingers or say that we are lazy, but there comes a point in time when you should turn in your homework.

We are all given this amazing opportunity to attend a school that cares so much about our well-being and tries to prepare us for college, but sometimes even I take it for granted and slack off because it’s easy to sit around and think that easy and I will get accepted simply because I attended CHS. But since we are given this opportunity to learn and thrive, shouldn’t we take it? Shouldn’t we try to get into college or pursue whatever dreams we have outside of high school to the best of our abilities?

Beside not taking advantage of our education, more importantly this feeling of “I don’t have to do anything,” needs to stop. We have to realize that not everything in life will just be handed to us. People in the workforce aren’t going to say “Oh you’re from CHS, you don’t need to do work.” No. High school is the four years of your life when you have to prove that you can be something bigger than yourself. However, this doesn’t mean that not getting a 4.0 is the end of the world. It isn’t. But working hard  and actually caring about doing your work well, no matter your circumstances, is the way to earn respect from your peers and potential clients or bosses. The snotty stigma of CHS isn’t entirely false, so we should strive to prove it wrong. This can only come from hard work and determination.