I spent the month of April asking every person who crossed my path where I should go to college. I received either of two questions in response, “Which one do you think is a good fit?” or “Which one is ranked the highest?” After consulting with numerous peers, I noticed that students who believed in the CHS-pushed mentality that numbers are everything (SAT, GPA, etc.) were more likely to care only about the perceived prestige of a school, not what would be the best learning environment or where I would be happiest.

Every year since freshman year, there has been one class that I find so tedious and uninteresting that to lay eyes on the subject material is actually painful. Even when I can work through the pain, I only just scrape by with a decent grade. So this year, under a vile combination of college-induced stress, senioritis and contempt for unnecessarily complicated assignments, I did something completely unlike my perfectionist self: I stopped caring.

CHS is well known for its academic excellence for a reason: it is a school that caters to the elite super-bright overachievers. Until the end of senior year, I dedicated my life to being like them. Needless to say, I was miserable. Schoolwork seemed to consume my life, particularly that one class of dread. I read and reread the same chapter in futile attempts to get a “B” on Modern World History tests. I have had more creepy dreams about Hamlet and Wuthering Heights than I care to remember, making even sleep draining.

When I finally started to let go as a second semester senior, I felt infinitely better. But what was the point of those three-and-a-half years of suffering? Those hours of essay writing and never-ending projects are foreign to students at other high schools for a reason: they are not catered to the average high school student. Yes, I am well aware that CHS is a Blue Ribbon school and we are supposed to set the bar higher, but as a non-magnet public school, CHS should be concerned with teaching the average student body, not pushing students into Ivy League universities.

In my college searches, I met high schoolers from around the country who were taking the same AP classes that I was, but had far less homework than I. As a result, they had time to participate in more extracurricular activities and take more advanced courses, raising their weighted GPA as well as their appeal to colleges. They seemed to have more energy, be less burnt out and still have interest in learning. By pushing students too hard, CHS is actually doing students a disservice.
I want to remind all of the underclassmen out there that being accepted to an Ivy League school does not make you a better or smarter person. If a prestigious school is the best place for you, that is great. But do not let numbers dictate your life, because one day, years from now, you will wake up and realize that you could have gotten where you are by taking a different, more enjoyable path.
As for me, I am happy to report that I have beaten the toxic CHS mentality in at least one way: my future college is ranked third highest of all my options.