Vincent Yang

27/10/2020

“If you work hard in high school, your life will be much easier in the future”.  This has been a saying that I believe most high school students have heard before. Even in some miraculous scenario that a student has never heard it, I’m certain that it has at least been implied. Whether it be told by parents, peers, or even teachers, the saying serves to give students an incentive to work hard now so that they do not have to do so in the future. However, one common topic of discussion among students is whether or not the hard work they put in now will even bear fruit. This is because of the ambiguity that lies ahead. Working hard now will potentially land them in a good university where they have to work hard for another four years to potentially land a good job. Although there is a lot more to life than working and earning money, the notion sure does play a large role in the way people plan their future. That’s essentially what high school is. It is a part of the puzzle in helping us plan our future. But with the world in an ever-evolving state, how should students even know if what they’re studying will not be rendered obsolete in the future? If there are so many uncertainties that lie ahead of us, what is the point of spending what is supposed to be the best years of our lives working instead of having fun? This brings me to my main argument, which is to urge my fellow peers to understand that our time in high school is not only a time for us to enjoy ourselves, but it is also a time for us to find out what we enjoy. The hard work we do now is to ensure that we have the privilege to be able to choose a job (that pays well) where we actually enjoy what we do, because if you don’t end up enjoying what you do, what was the point of all the stress, the all-nighters, and the time you spent working when you could have been having fun?

The main point of concern for us students is that we have never been given a certainty that our work eventually pays off. In fact, the entire process, from college applications to finding jobs is extremely ambiguous because of how many different factors that come into play when admissions officers or employers select applicants. However, student’s need not worry, as there is now evidence that the hard work they put into high school does indeed pay off. A study released by researchers from the University of Miami looks at the correlation between a student’s GPA in highschool and their annual salaries as an adult. The analyists were sure to control all factors including family size, parental education levels, as well as ensuring that the scores were from the actual transcripts and not self-reported in order to get the most accurate and reliable results (Marte 2014).

As seen from the graph, there is a distinct, strong, and positive correlation between doing well in school and the average annual salaries. On top of this, further research done at the University of Miami goes even deeper to indicate that this correlation was strongest for minorities, which in this case, applies directly to my peers and I.

Now that there is data to back it up, it can be safe to say that what the adults have been telling us is true. Yes, although the work that we do now may seem like a burden, there is now evidence that it does play a role in the outcomes of our future. I urge my peers to understand that although this only mitigates a few in the sea of concerns that we have, it is best for us to continue to work hard now in order to give us more options in the future. After all, the effort we put into these four years of school will not go unnoticed, and in the worst case scenario where what we plan to study is rendered useless in the future, our diplomas are still solidified pieces of evidence for our capabilities.

At the end of the day, I believe that high school is merely a stepping stone for the rest of our lives. With the precarious nature of life and what lies ahead of us, it is best to simply do the best we can now to allow ourselves that opportunity to work less and enjoy more of life. Of course, this is our youth, so it is also equally important to spend our time wisely and enjoy ourselves as well. To summarize, I think that we should all work hard in order to eventually get the privilege to play harder.