Determined, I sprinted across the soccer field to get open for a pass. My teammate was pushing the ball towards the opposing team's goal and I wanted to ensure that we would score. I ran right past two or three defenders and called for the ball. He kicked me the perfect pass right through the middle of their defense. During those two seconds the ball soared over to me, all I could think about was scoring that goal. Once the ball reached me I chested the ball in order to control it, then fired a shot straight into the bottom right corner of the net! The score was now 2-1 with us in the lead, late in the second half. I smiled and silently thanked my parents for making me play this sport. Thanks to this experience, I have been driven to write an essay regarding extracurricular activities. Recently, our principal has decided to make extracurricular activities required. He states that every student must participate in at least one extracurricular activity. While not everybody is on board yet, yes, it is a good idea to require extracurricular activities in schools.

First of all, extracurricular activities are beneficial to most people. A survey given to schools across Generic_City that was made by the county's school board asked students about their extracurricular activities. Three questions in the survey particularly stand out. The first of the three was whether or not students enjoy their extracurricular activities. The second one was whether or not students learned something from them, and the last one was if students would recommend their activity to other students in the school. The answers to the first and second were both 92% yes, and the third one was 81% yes. Therefore showing that extracurricular activities can be an important and enjoyable part of your life. They bring new and fun learning points to your life rather than old and boring school based curriculum that you might not even use for the rest of your life. There is absolutely no reason why students shouldn't participate in an extracurricular activity

Furthermore, there is something for everyone. When I was in the 6th grade, way back in the day, I had a strange friend group. hardly anybody shared the same interests. I liked to run, and my buddy Generic_Name liked to sit back and watch TV, but we were somehow best buds!

When our school started introducing some after school activities, every single one of my friends was in a different activity. I was in the running club, Generic_Name was in movie analysis, Generic_Name was in Lego club, and Generic_Name was in board games. Not one person was disappointed with their activity. This proves that there are options for everybody. Every student will have something that interests them which leads to them enjoying the activity, and learning from it.

Most importantly, these extracurricular activities can lead to a career choice. In an interview with principal Generic_Name of Generic_School, Generic_Name states: "Extracurricular activities are very important to me as a principal. We offer our students a wide variety of clubs such as writing club, sports analysis club, biology, chemistry, and history, hoping to spark interest in these students for their future career choices."

This quote by Principal Generic_Name shows that extracurricular activities are not just used for fun and games. They are there to inspire students. To get them ready for their future.

If students don't learn what they want to do in life how will they ever be successful? That alone is important enough to make extracurricular activities required.

On the other hand, some people believe it shouldn't be required to do some sort of extracurricular activity because they would take up unnecessary time. A survey was given to parents of Generic_City Public School students, asking if they were unhappy about how much time their children take up doing their extracurricular activities. Out of 128 responses 53% said yes, they are unhappy with the amount of time their child is taking doing his or her extracurricular activities. Sure, this is a good point. However, the activities are not meant for the parents. They are meant for the students. Going back to the first survey mentioned; the one given to Generic_City students; out of 2243 responses, 96% of students say their activities are worth while. Almost every single student thought their activities were worth their time. If students believe their activities don't take up too much time, why not require them? If their parents are unhappy that should not change anything because these activities are meant to benefit students, not their parents.

All in all, we need our extracurricular activities, and to make them required is a great idea. It is fun for the students, It's beneficial, it's a good learning experience, and it's a good way to give students ideas for their career. If you want to help make schools require extracurricular activities, you can send an email to your principal asking to require them. If you want to help out in different ways, go ahead and form a club for your school! It could be anything that interests you, or anything you want to inform others on. It's up to you. Before we depart, I want to ask you; Without extracurricular activities, where would we be now?