THE QUESTION OF PASSION IN HIGH SCHOOL

By Ethan Cho and Jenna Kim, ’ 24 Editors-in-Chief of the Spirit

Passion can take many forms, but it really boils down to what drives you. What keeps you going in the day? What makes you enthusiastic to learn, to think, and to act? The question of passion is one that high schoolers all over the world grapple with, and Seoul Foreign School is no exception.

Fortunately, SFS is a suitable environment for students of all ages to pursue their passions, with a wide variety of academic and extracurricular opportunities available. Classes allow students to explore different fields from a young age by introducing them to books, science, art, and more. The academic curriculum at SFS sets a very strong foundation for students to understand their interests, which can then be expanded upon outside of class through after-school activities. Starting from elementary school students can participate in activities through SWEP, including K-pop dance, VEX robotics, sports, and even chess! As students progress through middle school and eventually high school, they’ll find even more chances for them to pursue their own passions.

The high school clubs system only expands upon these prospects for students. “SFS presents a wide variety of opportunities for people to pursue their passions, whether it’s niche or not, because we have over 60 clubs and organizations in the high school alone,” says Garvin Kim (12), the current Director of the High School Club Organization & Advisory Board (COAB). COAB oversees the many clubs available in the high school, all of which present chances for students to discover and explore their passions. Students can partake in Service clubs like Angels Haven, Nanumi, National Honors Society, and ESWS to give back to and volunteer for both our local and international communities. On the other hand, Pursuits clubs are available for students to experience various fields through activities like Model United Nations, journalism (our high school’s The Spirit newspaper), photography, choir, and more.

SFS has helped many students discover their unique passions—even the four students interviewed for this article all had completely different interests. Zinna Kim (12) is passionate about neuroscience and public policy, while Garvin enjoys watching and making films. Jamie Oh (9) enjoys public speaking while Justin Koo (10) finds writing and music special to him. It’s safe to say that the opportunities available to SFS students, whether it be through academics or extracurriculars, have helped many students discover their interests.

However, even with these seemingly endless opportunities, Garvin finds that it is often still difficult for students to effectively pursue the passions they’ve discovered they so truly love. “Academic pressure often gets in the way,” Garvin says. “Many people email COAB saying they have to drop out of their club as they don’t have enough time to study,” and subsequently can’t allocate enough time for both clubs and academics.

This sentiment is widespread amongst students. Jamie Oh (9) also has many passions, including public speaking and boxing, as they “give [her] a sense of desire and self-pride” and “help [her] release her stress” respectively. Public speaking and boxing have been significant parts of Jamie since she was in the British School, yet are passions hindered by the “academic and public pressure” placed on her shoulders. “As I transitioned to high school, with all the homework and assessments piling up, I was unable to go boxing, leaving my passion for boxing to be left in the dark,” Jamie says. “I believe that there are a lot of sacrifices for passionate activities students have to make as they slowly gain more pressure from their peers, family, and most of all, future."

Jamie brings up a good point. Students often find it difficult to discover their passions with the idea of applying to college in mind. Zinna finds that “whatever we fo, we aim it towards colleges.” So it becomes hard to say whether her and other students’ interests are born out of their true love for it or to write on their college applications. Justin hopes that he can find more “personalized support” to continue the activities he loves, even if it doesn’t necessarily coincide with biology olympiads, writing competitions, or the other standard and popular extracurriculars needed to continue a future path to med or law school. It is important that students in high school take the time to reflect and dip their toes in clubs and projects that peak their interests. However, it seems to be that the highly competitive, academic, and college-driven atmosphere hinders high-schoolers to pursue unconventional passions, whether it be due to opposition from those around them or just the lack of opportunities. A stronger foundation for students to find opportunities to pursue their interests, no matter how popular or niche their passions are, can be developed with the help of our parents, teachers, and counselors.

Balancing your passions with all the external factors is an issue that’s definitely not easy to overcome. However, there are ways that we can alleviate this problem, and support students in pursuing their interests. One important action that should be taken is encouraging students to focus less on the validation of others and more on bettering themselves. Zinna believes that high schoolers shouldn’t “chase after things that look better on their resumé or for the title that the activity comes with”, but rather find hobbies that actually appeal to them. This can come by joining the “most random activities, like chess club”, as in doing so one may find an unexpected passion. Jamie also believes in focusing on yourself. “Rather than worrying and focusing on your future and lingering in the past, focusing on the present will allow you to find the meaning in life,” says Jamie. Don’t fret about whether pursuing your passions now will affect your future—just do what appeals to you in this current moment, and all will turn out well.

The question of passion in high schoolers is a difficult, yet extremely relevant one. While one’s dreams in high school are most definitely not their final destination, exploring interests from a young age can greatly assist in a student’s general idea of what they are, and most importantly who they are. It’s crucial that high schoolers have the freedom to pursue their passions so that they can flower into motivated and self-aware individuals.

The Spirit is the official High School publication. It is entirely edited and designed by high school students, for high school students. The Spirit explores all kinds of subjects relevant to the student body, from world events to tips and tricks.