Last spring the only necessary criteria I had to meet while filling out my course selection form was fulfilling the English requirement. The rest of the sheet featured a refreshing series of blank boxes. Of course, I had to meet the standard semesterly credit minimum, but could do so essentially however I pleased.

After scanning the extensive course catalog, I found myself genuinely looking forward to each piece of my schedule, and, as a result, the first few weeks of senior year felt strangely unstressful. Granted, college application deadlines and standardized testing dates hadn’t begun sneaking up, but the underlying difference between this year and last still lies in having the opportunity to explore interesting in completely new fields.

Consequently, lectures and discussions are more engaging, homework feels less tedious, and the school day is generally more enjoyable.

By far, Architecture stretches my comfort zone the furthest, but it’s also one of the classes I’m most glad I’m taking. I get to explore a totally new field and gain some sort of insight into whether or not this could lead to a possible career path. If nothing else, sketching buildings and hot gluing models is a really soothing way to start the morning.

I didn’t even realize it until my teacher asked, but I haven’t taken an art class since fifth grade. Although the extent of my artistic talent pretty much stops at birthday cards and photo collages, I remember enjoying those elementary school art classes. They served as a sort of creative rejuvenation–a refreshing break from more concrete subjects, even if I may not have needed it yet.

As students we’re often confined to a set of right and and wrong answers and burdened by the pressure to find the best solution, so I appreciate having an outlet in which no ideas are bad ideas.

Now that I’ve experienced the compelling result of an entirely customizable course selection form, I can’t help but wonder how many other classes would have been equally as intriguing. I now have a growing list of classes that sound intriguing, but only one semester and two possible schedule openings left to fill.

Although I’ll have plenty of chances to explore an even more extensive course list in college, I wish I hadn’t waited until my senior year to take advantage of the already unique and specialized one we’re so lucky to have access to here.

Underclassmen, take classes others might not even know are offered, take classes based on your interests, not your friends’, and take classes just for the sake of exploring new fields.