Opportunity is one of the most valuable gifts. After all, as Jim Carrey
said, “Life opens up opportunities to you, and you either take them, or
you stay afraid of taking them.” A missed opportunity could mean that
you missed something that might have become your lifelong passion! We
currently live in a digitized world, where we have a myriad of
opportunities. These opportunities are amazing, where if you put enough
time and effort into it, you really can fulfill your dreams.
At the same time, there are too many opportunities. Gone are the days
where kids spend their afternoons carelessly playing outside. Instead, a
rigorous schedule of extracurricular activities often awaits. This could
mean sports, music lessons, etc, but with the internet, there is also a
bombarding stream of news to read, resources to learn from, Youtube
videos to watch, social media to compare, and constant communication.
As a high school student, I sometimes take a moment to pause and
understand why I’m doing something. My peers and I partake in a plethora
of afterschool clubs -- such as Speech and Debate and Student
Government, and other activities, such as dance, music, sports, and
more. My typical schedule on a school day starts by waking up before
sunrise, to quickly eat breakfast and catch the bus to school, then run
through all of my classes, attend a few meetings after school, eat, dump
a pile of homework on my desk and try to work through it, practice my
clarinet, rush to my taekwondo class, come home and continue homework,
and finally eat and crash into the bed before another day.
Life has almost become a competition: Who is the busiest? Who has the
most on their resume? And this ‘busyness’ is glorified in society.
Everyone wants to have a meaningful and productive life, but when is it
too much?
At that point, it is important to slow down and recognize why you are
doing something, because too many times, the answer is ‘to impress
someone else’. Just as opportunity is a gift, so is having time to
yourself. I am not saying that you should give up whenever you may feel
a bit busy. Simply take a moment to consciously decide if what you are
doing is worth it and makes you happy some way. Those opportunities are
worth it.