
Being only a sophomore at the University at Albany, I am have only been out of high school for a year and a half. With that said, my high school years are still fresh in my mind. Reflecting back on my high school years, I have come to one conclusion: I was extremely immature. You may believe that the only reason why I am saying this is because I am older and more mature, which may actually be true. Regardless of my reasoning though, the fact still remains that my mindset during my high school years was not of one prepared to enter adulthood.
Looking back at my high school years, I wished that I put more effort into my schoolwork. Especially during my freshman and sophomore years, I knew that I was capable of achieving and maintaining Honor Roll status (85+ GPA) without putting in much effort. I slacked off and only did enough to obtain the 85 average. The only time that I truly put full effort in school was around Regents exams because I felt that Regents exams were the only thing that was important enough to study for. While my lack of work ethic did not prevent me for achieving my goal of being an Honor Roll student, I developed some poor study habits which affected me during my junior and senior years, as well as in college. Thankfully, I was able to fight through these habits to excel as I began taking SAT Prep classes, AP classes, and college courses. Another negative impact of slacking off in my early years of high school is that it kept me from attaining a higher GPA and making myself a much more competitive college applicant my senior year. Don’t get me wrong, attending the University at Albany is one of the best decisions I have made in my life but I probably would have had more options of schools to attend if I worked harder throughout my high school career.
I loved high school. Experiences that endured during my high school years are what made me the person I am today. But that does not mean that I was not incredibly immature during high school. Kevin Durant said it best when he said “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”
Looking back at my high school years, I wished that I put more effort into my schoolwork. Especially during my freshman and sophomore years, I knew that I was capable of achieving and maintaining Honor Roll status (85+ GPA) without putting in much effort. I slacked off and only did enough to obtain the 85 average. The only time that I truly put full effort in school was around Regents exams because I felt that Regents exams were the only thing that was important enough to study for. While my lack of work ethic did not prevent me for achieving my goal of being an Honor Roll student, I developed some poor study habits which affected me during my junior and senior years, as well as in college. Thankfully, I was able to fight through these habits to excel as I began taking SAT Prep classes, AP classes, and college courses. Another negative impact of slacking off in my early years of high school is that it kept me from attaining a higher GPA and making myself a much more competitive college applicant my senior year. Don’t get me wrong, attending the University at Albany is one of the best decisions I have made in my life but I probably would have had more options of schools to attend if I worked harder throughout my high school career.
I loved high school. Experiences that endured during my high school years are what made me the person I am today. But that does not mean that I was not incredibly immature during high school. Kevin Durant said it best when he said “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”