Everyone can agree that the spookiest day of the year is Halloween, but this past Oct. 31 was a true nightmare for me. I came to school in my costume, a long white dress with cross-country gear, and for the rest of the day fully embraced the runaway bride persona that I was dressed as. It was the cross-country finals and also the final dress rehearsal for the “Matilda” production. The two events were occurring simultaneously almost 20 miles away from one another, and I was playing a critical role in both of them.
Throughout my high school career, I’ve always been told I’m biting off more than I can chew. Balancing two varsity sports seasons, the incredibly time-consuming Marlborough theater commitment and of course my time as an editor for The UltraViolet does seem like a lot on paper. In my first college counseling meeting, I was told that doing all of my activities wouldn’t be manageable and perhaps a waste of my time because it was preferred by colleges to excel in one area rather than try to do everything. However, I’ve learned I disagree with this perspective. Marlborough is a school with so many exciting things to offer, and I’m here to tell you that if you want to, you can do it all. If readers were to take one thing away from my words, please embrace every opportunity Marlborough offers.
As a person who wants to be the best at everything she does, the biggest lesson I’ve had to learn while undertaking this hefty activity load is that I can’t dominate every activity due to my split time. Senior year particularly tested this lesson. As one reaches 12th grade they enter the phase of assuming leadership positions for their various extracurriculars. I fell victim to the obsession of obtaining these leadership titles, like team captain or head editor. I realize now that when the time came for leaders to assume these roles, I couldn’t take on that responsibility in all of my activities because there would never be enough hours in the day for all those jobs.
At first, this upset me. It felt like I was failing in not just one extracurricular, but all of them because I wasn’t reaching the lofty goals I’d set for myself. But as the years have gone by, and I’ve persisted with cross country, theater and newspaper, not being a top dog hasn’t bothered me because I get to participate in all three activities. While they’re not all alike, these extracurriculars are by far my best parts of high school. Being number one didn’t matter because I was provided with three unique communities filled with some of my closest friendships.
On Oct. 31, I left school before the Pumpkin Day festivities began. I got on a bus for an hour to run a cross-country meet in the dry heat. It was league finals, and also my last time running that course. I crossed the finish line with a smile and minutes later raced into my car to return to where I came from. I got to Marlborough at 3:45 with just enough time to change into my costume before our final dress rehearsal. I ran into the theater, out of breath with my medal around my neck, and my lovely cast gave me a round of applause. My heart was full. I took my bow that night, utterly exhausted, still feeling the dust in my throat from the afternoon race, but I was filled with zero regrets because I’d spent the day jam-packed doing things I loved.
