I dance five days a week, on average three hours a night, take two AP classes, attend weekly meetings for the several clubs and organizations I am a part of, and babysit after school. Cramming all of this into just seven days every week does not always seem possible, but this is the schedule I built for myself, so somehow I have to make it work.

Now for some people this is a lot to handle. For others, my schedule does not even come close to the amount of after-school activities they commit themselves to.

Some days, like a lot of students, I feel as though teachers are simply assigning a two-hour assignment believing that I have nothing to do after school other than work; however, between dance and my other commitments, there is no way I will be able to complete that assignment without staying up until one.

I can be either frustrated with my teachers and blame them for thoughtlessly assigning a paper the night of my three-hour dance rehearsal, or I can blame myself for essentially putting myself in this situation.

We, as students, are always quick to blame the teacher for “carelessly” giving out big work loads, but we forget that it is our busy schedules that got us there in the first place.

A student can join as many after-school sports teams or clubs as they would like, but then they have to think about taking that extra AP. You can’t load up on four APs, not get home until eight and expect to get everything done for the next day; it’s just not possible.

The fact is you want to do what you love, but something’s gotta give.

I spend the majority of my free time dancing.  In order to adjust for this, I take fewer APs, and pick classes where I know I can get the work done. While I still have the occasional nights where I am up until one in the morning, I know that it’s a result of my own choices. 

Regardless of what classes your parents or your college counselor are dictating that you take, you need to think in terms of what you can actually handle without getting overwhelmed.

You’re the only one who knows what your schedule will be the following year, so plan for it. Don’t go into your guidance counselor and sign up for five APs because you “think” you can handle it on top of everything else that you do. At this point, you should know what you are getting yourself into when you sign off on your final schedule for the following year.

So, you can sit back and pretend that it’s all your teachers’ fault for doing their job or you can give something up and adjust your schedule to accommodate your schoolwork and eight hours of sleep each night.

The choice is yours.