OPT-ortunity

When course registration emails were sent out last week and students began signing up for their courses for next year, an interesting choice confronted me, as well as several other students. As preps or a lowers, we are required to participate in sports every term, and although some people decide to do intro fit or prep spaz, a great number of people compete in varsity or junior varsity sports for at least these two years. Of course many of them will continue to do so in their upper and senior years, but many also choose to discontinue rigorous sports after lower year, preparing for the much more academically challenging terms that they will face upper year. I made this choice recently, giving up my status as a varsity wrestler in favor of more free time to get my work done.While I don’t regret the decision, it was a difficult one to make. Since fourth grade, I’ve been on some kind of sports team, and sports have been a large part of my life. At Exeter we have to make choices regarding the areas where we place emphasis, whether they be academics, extracurriculars or athletics. So far I’ve balanced them pretty well, but I realize that trying to do so during my upper year is not advisable.Another choice I made was to opt spring term, giving myself two extra free periods to work on my 333 when the time comes. Spring term is the most common term for students to opt, and most of the people I have talked to plan to do so as well. Some teachers frown upon opting, saying that it encourages laziness and that we should at least do club sports, but I disagree. For students who are not passionate about athletics, opting is the perfect way to focus entirely on whatever it is that they are passionate about and get their schoolwork done more efficiently.However, I am in support of the school’s policy banning preps and lowers from opting. Put simply, underclassmen do not have enough work to warrant two extra frees, even when taking challenging courses and participating in lots of clubs. Of course as a prep I thought I had it bad, but I now see that my life was blessed in those months and that I shall soon be wishing for a minute of that long-lost free time.As the Class of 2015 enters its years as upperclassmen, some sacrifices must be made regarding our activities. I certainly respect those who continue with sports, but I also recognize the need for a more relaxed life when the work begins to pile up. The same can be said for giving up clubs that are not necessarily central to your life at PEA. While it’s good to have diverse interests, eventually one must focus and begin specifically pursuing one thing or another. I greatly look forward to a time when I can devote as much of my energy as possible to my key areas of interest, and if that means sacrificing a few non-essential activities, then I’m willing to do it.