Balancing Priorities

I recently finished my final exams at my school, which was a very stressful week. My school structures finals week so that each day has 2 3 examinations, while the rest of the day is left to the students’ discretion, often for studying upcoming exams or finishing final projects, and I was no exception. I spent much of my time preparing for math and biology exams while also revising my history and English papers.

However, amid all the chaos of studying and completing other tasks, I also had an art project due. This was one of the only finals that brought me little stress, as it was a low-stakes art project, and something I genuinely enjoyed working on. It allowed me to feel productive even as I worked on a hobby I would do out of class, and as a result, I found myself spending more and more time in the art studio as an escape from studying. When I noticed this, I sat and contemplated for a bit about my next few actions. After all, I had noticed that most of my peers in my art class rarely put as much time and effort into their final projects as I had, but it felt wrong for me not to put my full dedication into any artwork, regardless of the circumstances. However, in the end, I still chose to spend a significant portion of my time in the art studio. Throughout this process, I wondered if I would come to regret spending so much time on art

instead of studying. It wasn’t as though I was completely neglecting the rest of my classes; I was simply allocating a bit more time to a class others deemed less important, and if given the time, I would have certainly spent even more time completing this art project. I got through finals week, finished all my tests and turned in all my papers and projects, and awaited my report card, which would determine if it was the wrong call to balance both my priorities of art and academics instead of focusing on only one. Luckily, in the end, all worked out for me this time, but it does worry me to ponder about the rest of high school, and how I will need to balance both these priorities of mine as the workload increases. How much time will I have next year to invest in art? Will I still be able to produce a piece of art I’m proud of, or will I have to settle for less so as to not compromise my academics?