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Sailing the Seven C’s

“​When life takes the wind out of your sails, it is to test you at the oars”​ - Robert Breault.

Throughout my freshman voyage, the wind was behind my sail as I garnered high academic

honors and faced few challenges. While I traveled only calm seas, I had adopted a false

confidence which enabled me to go out and explore the waters of an accelerated high school.

Before leaving behind the comfort of a traditional education and setting my sights on prestige

and rigor, I straightened my sail and held on tight.

As my sophomore journey commenced, I felt my boat becoming unbalanced: the weight

of my textbooks placed a priority over my field hockey stick and track shoes. I spent my first

weeks exploring new skills, such as study habits and time management, and longed to focus my

eyes on something other than the words in my books. Although I was able to effortlessly find my

equilibrium between academics and athletics in the past, every minute I spent away from my

studies in this new and fast-paced environment set me trekking through the wake of my peers

and falling farther behind. When I sailed the four C’s of my sophomore year, I had veered from

the path my classmates had strictly followed. Their after-school plans consisted of long study

hours at their independent desks, and mine was comprised of studying throughout the weekly

multi-hour car rides to and from field hockey practices. Their high school excursion had a

different destination than mine; they hoped to find the Ivy League and straight A’s, and I sought

a roster spot on a collegiate sports team and the highest grades ​I could obtain. Although they

sailed their paths of high academic pride, I was able to create a unique route, and discover that

there was more to my high school odyssey than just the C’s I had traveled. While they made their

way to the top of the honor roll, I was able to earn a spot on the top national field hockey club
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team and collect two all-time track records in the midst of staying afloat in challenging classes

and excelling with independent research.

When my junior quest began, the wind was taken from my sail, leaving me to use the

oars. My class schedule had differed from my classmates in a grueling manner, and I had to find

my way through another choppy three C’s. While such a detail can sound so insignificant, it is

what diverted me from finding true tranquility throughout my upperclassman voyage. As a

transfer student at a distinguished high school, I am held accountable for the curriculum missed

during what would have been my first year, all while learning the current curriculum. Although I

was used to navigating through rough waters, I felt as if I was trying to steer my vessel in two

directions at the same time. The study methods and time management skills I had once mastered

were no match for the hefty combination of chemistry and trigonometry, which only exists in a

transfer student’s schedule (like mine). While my classmates cruised in the wind created by each

other and spent their time studying one major subject, I found myself paddling my way through

the material of two daunting subjects and sacrificing the test grades.

Although it is still hard to face these C’s, there is no way to reach my destination of

college without accepting them and leaving them behind me. I spend my time now sailing my

own path, yet near my classmates. Even though I started my journey a year later, I was able to

propel myself by spending extra time with my textbooks and defining my own success. The

seven C’s that I have traveled do not reflect a four-year journey of average achievement and lack

of effort: they resemble the result of well-rounded rigor.