In today's world, often times students get carried away with social media, what may seem like never-ending homework assignments, keeping their grades up, and simply the stress of being a teenager in general. The countless things that students have to deal with can get quite overwhelming. Having a way to escape from all of that stress can be quite beneficial for students. I agree with my principal's decision to require that all students participate in at least one extracurricular activity because it gives students a chance to build relationships with others, it teaches students new skills, and it gives students a creative and/or stress relieving outlet in their hectic lives.

Extracurricular activities give students a chance to build meaningful relationships with others. Often times, students rely on their phones and/or other forms of technology to find sources of entertainment, and thus, deprive themselves of healthy, face-to-face, social interaction. Extracurricular activities give students great opportunities for social interaction and growth that they may not get otherwise. They give students a safe environment that they can go to to make friends, and learn to be a good friend. Though students can often build relationships with peers, they can build relationships with coaches, teachers, and other potential role-models as well . Not only can they befriend these role models, but they can learn valuable lessons from them as well.

Whilst participating in extracurricular activities, students can learn to develop the skills that they currently have, and learn new skills that could aid them in life. Skills such as the ability to be a leader, hard worker, team-player, good friend, and many others is a common thing that students take away from participating in extracurricular activities. For example, students that decide to serve on the student council can learn to develop valuable leadership skills that could potentially help them to be a good leader in an occupation later in life. Not only that, but students may also learn more about themselves and find out that they have certain skills that they did not know about before. While introducing new skills to students, these activities help students develop their previous talents as well by giving them opportunities to improve. Not only do extracurricular activities help improve students' skills, they also improve their mental state.

As previously stated, the lives of students can be quite hectic. When students participate in an extracurricular activity, it provides them with a creative and/or stress-relieving outlet to deal with stress and it gives them valuable life experience. Unfortunately, many teens that get overwhelmed with stress get mental illnesses that can lead them to do unhealthy things. Examples of unhealthy things that teens do when overwhelmed are they could partake of drugs and/or alcohol, harm themselves, or possibly even commit suicide. Extracurricular activities provide students with a safe environment to be themselves and worry less about the stress of daily life. It gives them a break from homework, social media, grades, and other things that could increase the levels of stress in their lives. It also gives students valuable life experience and opportunities to draw upon previous experience. For example; a student could use their knowledge and experience with being captain of their volleyball team to learn to be a good boss.

I agree with my principal's decision to have each student participate in at least one extracurricular activity because extracurricular activities can help students by giving students the chance to build relationships with others and use their social skills, and they can teach students new skills and help them develop their current talents. They also give students valuable life experience as well as an outlet to relieve stress and freely exhibit their creativity. Through the stressful and hectic life of a student, extracurricular activities provide a safe place, valuable skills, friends, life experience, and so much more.