It is that time of year for seniors in high school all around the world. It is time where all the hard work, sacrifice, and dedication boils down into one decision. It is the decision that will tell you whether or not you’ve been accepted or denied into the college of your choice. So image this: all the hard work and all the sacrifice is all bent into just a few words? This the inevitable fate that high school seniors have always faced. It is the mixture of confusion, anxiety, and all emotions in between. But it is a part of reality and a truth which cannot be altered. As a senior myself, in the midst of waiting for college decisions to come out, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed and worried. Senior year in high school is the last part of youth and adolescence. From here on there is no more seeing the same advisory in the mornings, no more buying back to school supplies, and no more coming to same school for another year of high school. All those childhood memories are something that one takes with them when they go off to college. This is a situation that I, like many seniors, am facing right now.
College applications and high school work are intertwined, which makes focusing on Model UN that much more difficult. In my case, my college list was already long to begin with and it changed throughout the year. With that, it has also been arduous balancing the effort that goes into college applications with regular high school work. This year, in many ways the work load has overwhelmed me and at times I could not cope with all the stress. I found myself doubting that I could manage all the responsibilities that I had to do.
Now the question that comes to mind is: with all the pressure of college applications and regular school work, how does one have time to do such a challenging activity such as Model UN? In my experience, I would say one really needs to be aware of time management and how to balance a schedule. One of the many lessons that I’ve learned this year is to be thorough with how you spend time doing tasks for school as well as for yourself. As Model UN has been a huge influence on my life, I wanted to get the most out of this year by participating in all of the collegiate conferences that my school was going to as well as one high school conference. This year in particularly, my school had around 30 members for its Model UN club which is the biggest yet. Being the Co-Head of my school’s Model UN club added a little more pressure. With this in mind, I wanted to focus on having an impact on the club as a leader. Something that I constantly emphasized in my college applications was about giving back and mentoring new members of my school’s team to foster a similar interest and appreciation for Model UN that I have. Whether it was sharing a favorite memory of doing Model UN as a freshmen or doing a fun public speaking exercise, I feel as though I bonded with the members of our club, particularly the freshmen. I was lucky to say the least, but I still had to be responsible for completing my college applications along with my school work.
One of the many challenges about doing Model UN in senior year is trying to be committed to everything. The fun and entertainment of Model UN becomes outweighed by the pressure that school and college applications bring. Participating in my final collegiate conference was an emotional moment as I realized that I would never participate in another Model UN conference as a high school student. The complex dynamic of trying to balance Model UN with college applications and school work is gone for me now. However, the enjoyment of participating in Model UN never goes away and neither does helping other people become stronger and confident delegates as well. While nowadays, I am no longer preparing to debate about issues such as environmental degradation for a General Assembly or thinking about strategies in a Crisis committee, there is still a passion to do Model UN.
