The freshmen, sophomores, and juniors at Wayne Hills were recently asked to hand in their course request forms in preparation for the 2020-21 school year.

In terms of the core academic subjects, students are required to take four years of English, three years of math, three years of science, two years of U.S. history, and one year of world history. They also must complete two years of a world language, one year of visual and performing arts, one year of career education, and consumer, family, and life skills, one year of humanities, and a half year of financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy. 

Wayne Hills offer a wide range of electives that allow students to explore many fields of studies and to pursue any interests they have. 

However, many students and even myself feel pressured in the course selection process, often due to the expectation to select courses that will align with a certain career path and determine a student’s entire future. Along with this pressure comes the stress of not knowing what one desires to do beyond high school, and scheduling forces one to reevaluate and think of what career they may want to pursue and what their interests are. There is also the difficult decision of one trying to challenge his or herself by taking weighted classes or choosing electives that stand out to colleges. 

Beyza Beyazkan, who is going to be a junior next year, explains how this time of year is very stress inducing for her. 

“It’s really difficult to choose what classes you want to take especially if you aren’t sure what type of major you would want to go into. It’s also stressful finding the balance of a challenging schedule and an unmanageable schedule,” Beyazkan said.

Despite the pressure and stress, I believe that choosing classes is a fantastic and beneficial opportunity to really explore one’s interests and to find out what one dislikes as well. Personally, I am currently taking a computer science class, but when I scheduled my classes for next year, I decided not to take the next computer science class available. This was simply because this elective did not really intrigue me, and I found it extremely challenging. Instead, I requested other courses like American government because of my positive experience taking U.S. History, and so scheduling and picking electives has been a tool that helped me find my true interests.

Although scheduling and planning for the future may seem daunting and incredibly difficult, high school is only four years out of your whole life. Whether you are interested in technology, mathematics, or the arts, pursue your own interests when choosing classes, because as long as you are passionate about it, that itself will get you far in life.