confessions of a sleep-deprived AP student

Dear college admissions director,
I know I should have a more impressive application. Sorry for its lacking quality. I know I should have taken 15 APs in high school, not my scant 10. And I know I should have been president of at least 2 clubs, not vice president of 1. And I should have been a member of at least 5 clubs, not 2. I tried to go out for sports too, but I had to drop it to keep up with my school work. I tried to join honors societies, but I didn't have enough time for the volunteer hours. I would do a summer volunteer program abroad, but the cost broke the bank. I wanted to do so much more, but I couldn't. In other words, I tried.
Sincerely,
a tired, estranged, and harried applicant.

This is typical of most AP students. As I say, AP isn't a class type - it's a lifestyle. It's a life choice. And it has an influence of everything. Us AP geeks tend to go in over our heads, and we try to be everywhere, leading everything, making progress in the world, being better than everyone else. It can get a little cutthroat, and we're not even in college yet.
Who told us to take 6 APs each semester? Who said you have to be president of 5 clubs? Who said you have to be a star athlete and award winning actress, as well as a musical and artistic prodigy? Who said you have to make every decision, including whether or not to go to school with a flu, based on if it will affect college?
The answer: are you ready for it?
No one.
Well, we are getting some tense vibes from growing-ly competitive colleges, but we don't have to be everything. I mean, who are we trying to impress here? Will colleges take us seriously if we commit to everything but not even to ourselves? Let's get real. Will they really be that strict?
I think not.
I mean, it's our goal to have the left column of our transcripts be neatly branded with "AP", the stamp of success. But that doesn't mean we have to give 1000% all the time.
Technically, we are still kids. Under the law we have no legal rights. Kids shouldn't have to be working as hard as their parents. I'm not discouraging AP, but I think that sometimes we breathe in too much AP and we catch the AP fever. We go out of control and become addicted to taking all APs. Then we forget that inside of us is a person who wants to love, grow, and be happy. And we can't when we stifle our happiness.
Don't overdo it. Live a little. And this applies to other things as well. When you over commit to everything, you have no more to commit to yourself. That's sad.
Remember yourself. Listen to yourself. Listen to your heart. Sometimes us APs need to listen to that instead of our heads. Happiness can come in the form of 5s on an AP test - but is it really worth it when your own happiness and well-being is at stake?
s long as you are confident in who you are, you'll go far.