In a world where things are very confusing as you are growing up, and “change is the only constant”, the Play it Smart program offers me peace and contentment in my school life every day. This is a program which is run after school by our athletic and academic coaches who help student athletes balance their studies with sports. Ever since I stepped into high school I have been a part of this program. It has helped me get involved in community service events all around the state. As we all know, for teenagers homework and other assignments can be challenging, but play it smart provides great academic support, and it has helped me keep up with my grades. Last but not least, play it smart teaches us excellent time management skills, by providing us enough time for our studies and sports practice. When I was a freshmen, being new to the high school I would sometimes lag behind in my studies and sports. Play it smart helped me bounce back. Since that time I have never looked back and in fact have become a high achiever.
I still remember the day when one of the upperclassmen from play it smart encouraged me to get involved with community service because it was fun and productive. To me it seemed unbelievable at the same time it made a lot of sense. So I decided to sign up for it. I handed my permission slip and got on the bus at 10 am on a Saturday morning instead of sleeping in my bed. I got on the bus and was making my way to the Food Bank of New Jersey. When we got there we went into a room full of hundreds of other volunteers ready to participate in mission of providing school supplies and other materials to underprivileged kids. After we all settled down the food bank supervisor came in and explained what the task was on hand. Then he assigned us to different locations where we rolled pour sleeves and got to work. My friends and I were directed to a room full of papers, pencils, crayons, erasers, markers, etc. and some empty boxes on the floor waiting to be filled. We got to work almost immediately after the supervisor left. The work went on for two hours at the end of which I was tired but very satisfied. That was then but today I have over 350 hours and I don’t regret one hour for a second. This experience changed me completely from a self-centered person to a more selfless person. Giving back to the community has become a passion and a pleasure for me thanks to the Play It Smart.
Cultural activities are good but academics should also be taken care of. Every day when I am challenged by sports and club activities I get so involved that I forget about my academic work. Sometimes my practices last till eight or nine p.m. I usually have no time to prepare for my classes the next day. This is the reason why I appreciate the play it smart program which insists on all of us working on our academics before practicing. One time I had a lengthy project that was very time consuming