Basketballs get thrown around, paint splashes onto paper and adolescence start to open up their minds to logical thinking. Extracurricular activities should be required in schools because they help students release stress, help thinking in a new way, and makes school enthralling to those who have not been blessed with natural intelligence. Extracurricular activities can improve many students lifestyles.

A long day of tiring work builds up unnecessary stress. Students are packed with homework in subjects they may not enjoy. To end their day with an activity they enjoy can make a horrific day into an enthralling experience; for example, majority of people like spending time with others who they have things in common with. Growing up, it was hard for me to socialize, it felt as if everyone else was functioning faster than Ic was. After a day that felt as if the human population was filled with nothing but sorrow, I finally got to go home and feel the crystal clear water cool my body down, as my team practiced steadily for our swim competition. To have a kid feel relaxed and at peace will improve what they think as they wake up on Monday mornings.

In the school I have attended for junior high, I am required to take classes that focus on music. In the sixth grade, I chose orchestra because it was an amusing experience to see how one movement in my wrist could cause a pleasant noise to be heard throughout the room. In my science class, we had moved on to the sound unit and i excelled while many other students did not. When my science teacher used words such as octaves, pitch, and harmony it wasn't difficult to understand. The extracurricular activities I have taken have opened my mind into a more creative way of thinking. They taught me that there is more meaning on a paper than what is written in ink.

One of the many symptoms of depression is memory loss. Since my mother had suffered from the illness, it was genetically passed down to me. Even as a child it was clear to me that school was mainly about memorization. When teachers talked about how we had learned topics in prior years my brain scattered through the many memories in my head but was unable to remember anything. Extracurricular activities aren't about your ability to memorize, but your motivation to excel. That's why it will help students who are more academically challenged would more likely enjoy these activities.

Activities a student enjoys can introduce them to experiences they didn't know were possible. Extracurricular activities help students release stress from the hardships of their day, show them a way to think that they haven't seen before, and is beneficial for those who believe they are not intelligent. I believe that they would be helpful to students and help them excel in the future and should be required in schools.