If you’ve ever played the game Rush Hour, you’ll know that it’s a traffic jam game that gets progressively harder, and while I didn’t originally think this game would be a reflection of my life…I was wrong.

I’ve been involved in many different things since I was younger, and just like in Rush Hour, it was sometimes tricky to get the red car (me) out of the parking lot of interests and activities.

This situation of mine has only gotten progressively harder to manage as I entered high school. Just like the levels in the game, many of the clubs sounded fun, and I ended up being in over 10 activities both in and out of school, including color guard as my fall sport.

While this all started out fun, it soon became another stressful game of Rush Hour in which I was just trying to make it out of the parking lot alive.

Color guard proceeded to block all of my time like the largest cars in the parking lot. Other clubs tried to fit in the leftover spaces, and I quickly got stuck in a daily traffic jam of school, clubs, and other activities.

While it was usually a stressful struggle to find free time throughout the year, the red car and I managed to survive the levels and make it out of the freshman-year parking lot.

I love being involved because it allows me to do things I love with people who have the same interests, as well as meeting new people and experience new things. However, it can be hard to have such a variety of interests, because it means I have to split my time between all of them. I’ve realized I can’t do everything and I’ve started trying to have more specific interests looking forward.

Overall, while I love being involved, this coming year I am trying to stick to the easier levels of Rush Hour in sophomore year so I can get the red car out with plenty of space.