This I Believe

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away” - Anonymous.

I believe that the perfect balance in life is a collection of meaningful moments with lessons about determination and motivation leading to success, along with relaxing, joyous times spent with family and friends. Throughout high school, I found myself struggling with structuring my time to find a perfect schedule between working hard to reach my goals while at the same time searching for a purpose and happiness. Finding my purpose and being successful in life is an aspect in which I have always been constantly thinking about, and to me seems heavily based on schoolwork. I have always seen it in a black and white way; working hard leads to excellent grades, which in turn translate into going to a great college and career.
I have unwavering faith in my mental capacity that it will allow me to reach my goals. However, you only live once. Putting such an entirety of effort into this main goal hardly leaves any time for fun. After traveling on this heavily school-based path for nearly half of my life, I find myself disappointed because I didn’t have time for what I love to do and instead spent time on what I felt I needed to do. This is beginning to spur a change in me; having fun is equally as important as working hard and being successful in life.
I recently came across a quote which symbolized these thoughts. “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away” - Anonymous. After replaying this quote in my head for a couple of weeks, I began digesting it and started applying it to my own life. Channeling my thoughts into a quote such as this keeps it fresh in my mind and aspires its importance in my life. I would like to get into a good college, but in turn I do not want to regret missing out on activities and events that could change me as a person for the better.
As a result of rationally understanding this concept, I have begun to come up with ideas on how to improve myself as a person and live a more wholesome and happy life. I should have a brief understanding of where I want to go in life, but shouldn’t plan too much and make sure to keep my options open. In addition, I need to continue to reassure myself that I will maintain this work ethic, and I cannot be swayed to miss out on exciting possibilities at this expense. My future plans and successfulness will not be impacted by not joining in on fun plans.
To directly approach a plan of action, I hope to sign up for activities outside of my comfort zone in order to improve my life for the better and not feel so wrapped up in one affair. This technique is one in which I've actually tried, it seems to have improved my life in a multitude of ways. Last year I signed up for my high school’s cross country team. I had never participated in a sport such as this before; I didn’t know anyone on the team and had no idea what I was doing. Despite my nerves, I showed up for practice with an open mind. I ended up loving the sport and my teammates, and can currently not picture myself without this activity in my life. Taking this seemingly small risk proved to myself that I had nothing to lose and to just go for it!
Overall, I am thankful that I have access to such an excellent education system, however, I need to acknowledge that it is in my best interest to take a break from the studying and stress of school. I believe that if I schedule a balance between work and fun then I will be leading my ideal life. I am confident that working towards this goal will allow me to continue to grow as a person and be able to enjoy all of the luxuries of life. This I believe.