Newspaper staff vote: 25 agree, 0 disagree 

The best years of our lives are supposed to be about figuring out who we are and what we’re passionate about. They’re about making our own mistakes and learning from them in our own ways, but when we’re constantly told what to do or how to act, it’s hard to truly define ourselves as individuals. High school, especially in Johnson County, does not teach us what the real world is like.
High school does not teach us to make our own mistakes. High school just tells us not to make mistakes.Most of all, high school does not teach us to be passionate.
The minute we became freshmen, the idea of the “four-year plan” was pounded into our heads. We were told to start thinking about what we want to do with our lives and choose classes accordingly. So, in short, “winging it” was not necessarily the best option. Everyone had to know what they wanted to do and how to do it. Otherwise, they were doing it wrong.
As freshmen, we were told that honors and Advanced Placement classes are a must. Colleges want to know that we pushed ourselves in high school. Scores and grades are everything.
On top of all of that, every student has to get involved in as many extracurricular activities as possible, including community service.
When you graduate high school, of course it is absolutely wonderful to have high school courses that correlate to the field you’re going into, or to have multiple honors and AP classes on your transcript, or to have a plethora of extracurricular activities on your resumé.
But do those things define you as a person? Do those things mean you’ve made honest mistakes and learned from them? Do those things mean you’re passionate about anything?
Absolutely not.
You may have known what you were going to do with your life the second you got into high school. You may have racked up several honors and AP classes on your transcript. And you may have participated in various extracurriculars on the side.
If you can handle all of that, more power to you. But make sure you’re doing all of that for yourself.
Make sure you are trying things you want to try. Do not do anything you don’t want to do because you feel like you’re expected to.
Do what feels right for you. Branch out. Meet new people, and make new friends. Find yourself. Discover what you love to do.
Although they are important, scores and transcripts are not everything.