High school is a time for going to football games, never missing a dance, joining every club you can, facing your fears, planning for college, making questionable decisions, finding yourself, and somehow figuring everything out as you go. You only get to go through high school once. Managing your time with school, work, and sports can be very hard at times especially when you are suppose to live the ‘ideal’ teenage life.

Senior at Fossil, Amanda Field works two jobs and plays competitive soccer for u18 Arsenal Gold. Being a part of all of those things isn’t easy. “Honestly, I’d be lying if I said it was easy. I’ve always been the type of person who wanted to ‘do it all’. I wanted the fun social life, challenging classes, and the responsibility of a job. When I was 15 I got my first job, that was kind of the turning point in high school for me when I began to understand that no one can truly have it all.” Field currently has two jobs, one at Mary’s Mountain Cookies and the other as a radiology internship at Medical Center of the Rockies. Trying to do everything does require sacrifices and that is difficult for Field. However, she believes it is necessary for high school students that take on that extra challenge of work and sports to remember that they are still young. About once every two weeks she will plan a day where she’ll have absolutely nothing scheduled and will sit around and binge watch Friends for hours. The hardest part of managing her time is fitting in a decent number of hours of sleep because on top of everything she does, she has to do her homework and have a social life with family and friends. Field’s motivation is what gets her through those tough situations, “I am very passionate about my future and I think education opens so many doors for people. I love education and learning simply because it has always been something I can do and accomplish on my own.”

Junior at Fossil, Jaime Chavarria, works a lot of hours at his job and plays competitive soccer for u17 Storm FC. He believes organization and communication are the most important parts about having a schedule as busy as the one he has. Organization and communication helps him plan out his weekly schedule and ensure that there are no overlaps of events. Chavarria works at Denny’s Diner, he works there because it is close to his house and it’s a good place for a high school student to work. He works to help provide for his family as well as himself, it is extremely important to Chavarria that his family lives a happy life. “I do my best to ensure happiness for my mother and siblings because that is one of the most important things to me. I just want my mother not have to worry about the financial aspect of our family’s life.” Since Chavarria works a lot of hours, the most difficult part of managing his time is being able to complete his homework. It requires a lot of days with late nights but he has found ways to help. “I work with my teachers a lot and they typically are flexible by giving me extension on work that I wasn’t able to complete. Also, having off periods is really helpful because I can catch up on work and not be so stressed about my schoolwork.”

Managing your time with a sport, school, and work can be extremely difficult and stressful but there are several ways to make it easier. Chavarria and Field have found ways to enjoy their high school experience on top of all the other things they take one. Take the opportunities you get in high school because they will only come around once and discover who you are because that is what high school is all about. Invest some time into doing the things you enjoy because you never know when you won’t be able to do those things anymore.