Ever since Middle School, my first semester has always been much better than the second. When I look back I realized that there were numerous reasons for this. One reason was because during the second semester, the sun was finally coming out after the long winter and everyone would go to the beach instead of straight home. Furthermore with the rising temperatures it was harder to focus in class with no A.C., along with the cute girls wearing less clothing. I felt that I was unhurried to do homework because I had been working hard the entire first semester and I was getting tired of doing it. However I always knew the real reason why I wasn’t as productive in school during the second semester.
Throughout the Fall and Winter I had always played soccer and ran track. For 7 days of the week my day had a schedule from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. During the weekdays I would go to school, play soccer, come home, do my homework and go to bed. On the weekends I would be traveling for my game or track meet that would take up my entire day. During the first semester I was forced to be productive since I love playing sports. This is the reason why I had good grades and perfect attendance. I had a plan, and if I slacked off then I would let my team and myself down.
During the Spring semester my schedule would be much different. I would go to school and come home at 2:30 pm. When I got home, I would think to myself “Wow I have so much time and I could just do homework later”. That was when I would do unproductive things with my friends that had no scheduled time that these things would end. When I come home to eat late dinner I would shower and it will be 10pm with no homework done. Then I would have to decide whether to feel horrible the next day and do my homework, or get a good night sleep. Most of the time I would decide to go to bed. Although I would do well in class, it was harder for me to keep up in class without doing homework. I was doing just as bad as the other friends not playing sports.
Although you could say that I just needed to be more responsible, this happens to the majority of high school students. Without a set plan, motive, and people relying on you, sometimes it is easy to slack off. Besides, playing sports teaches students how hard work leads to success. It teaches teamwork and leadership qualities that are hard to come by. When students play highly competitive sports in school, it makes school work seem so easy since your mind is always in use and your body is active. If I could do it over, I would have tried out for a Spring sport. Though when I have children, I will only be strict on them in playing a sport because I know they would have a better chance in being successful.
