Balancing Priorities and Perfection by Fiona

Balancing Priorities and Perfection by Fiona - August 2026 Scholarship Essay

Perfection is what I’ve always strived for. I’m not very talented at a lot of things, but something I’ve always taken pride in is my academics. My high school years have been filled with sleepless nights as I worked towards an A plus in every class. A common thought that crossed my mind was that I wouldn’t be successful later in life if I had any less than a 4.0 GPA. I wouldn’t get into a good college, I would work in a McDonald’s forever, flipping burgers, I would disappoint my mother who always talked so highly of my intelligence. Not only was school important to me, but my social life as well. Constantly being told that high school will be the best years of my life, and to live it out as much as I can, put the idea in my head that I must see my friends as much as possible. All this pressure took a huge toll on my mental health and my perception of learning. I started to view school as a credential for my future rather than a chance to become educated about important life skills that I may never be taught again or reminded about. Not only that, but I made plans with friends as often as possible, leaving me to sleep during class because of how much homework I caught up on at night, I was hardly in a good mood because of this lack of sleep. It may sound dramatic, but it felt like I could never catch my breath from trying to gather my scattered thoughts and responsibilities.
A saying I always heard was that you’ll never get through college without time management. I typically turned a blind eye because I assumed my time management was great. “I turn every assignment in on time to avoid late points, so that could never be an issue for me.” But I wasn’t understanding the bigger picture. Time management isn’t just getting things done on time, it’s leaving time for yourself to breath. It’s making enough time so assignments can be done to their best ability instead of being sloppy and rushed. It’s thinking ahead instead of just going with the flow. It’s crucial to success in any aspect of life. I would not have known these things if it weren’t for my mother. Every time I asked for permission to go out, there was this look on her face, like she was confused or deep in thought. She was possibly confused on how I had time to do my responsibilities while dilly dallying with my companions. Maybe she was pondering about if she should let me figure things out for myself or finally give me her words of wisdom. One day, she made her decision. I asked for the fifth time that week if I could spend some time outside of the house, she finally broke it down for me. “Sometimes it’s okay to miss out on the teenage experience to prepare for your adult life.” It seems so obvious, but it blew me to my core to hear that. She was right. But I knew it was going to be difficult to adjust.
The summer before my junior year, I took 2 college classes, that’s when I realized things were getting real and serious. I stayed glued to my computer six hours a day to ensure a due date wasn’t missed. I declined many offers to go out with family and friends; but I still had my fun when I was caught up enough with my work. Hanging out with others was even more fun than before because I had no academic responsibilities to worry about. It felt like I was able to put my full energy into every aspect of my life, all because I decided to manage my time differently. I will never go back to the point in my life where I was struggling to keep my head above the sea of life. Now, I am looking forward to the future and everything I will potentially learn.