Tobias Wolff: On Doing Poorly in School Reaction

Nick Microulis

Tonight, I watched “Tobias Wolff: On Doing Poorly in School.” Although this may seem cynical, it's a video that Choate students could definitely relate to and learn from. Wolff talks about how even though he failed out of his prep school and never went to college he was still able to accomplish what he wanted. At a school where grades are taken far too seriously by students and things are done only in accordance with what colleges will like, it was refreshing to hear something contrary. You don’t need to stress yourself out over grades and assessments because in the end it really doesn’t matter. Yet I do this to myself often here, as does almost everyone I know. This isn’t healthy and it sure isn’t necessary. Wolff reaffirmed some thoughts I’ve been having recently. These thoughts aren’t Choate in any sense, Choate is not the problem, instead these thoughts are mainly they are reflective. My grand realization, although incomplete and in need of tinkering is that in order to succeed happily at Choate, you need to take everything week by week, day by day even. If you don’t you’ll be overwhelmed, but most important is to remember that in the end this is just high school. Are you going to be happy if you get into an Ivy, but spent the prior four years stressed and not having fun? As Tobias Wolff explained his video, you’ll be able to accomplish the important things in life with or without diplomas, you can be happy and successful without forcing unnecessary stress on yourself.