Determination is the key to success; however, the key to success accompanied by delight is passion.

When a person is passionate about what he or she is doing, there is a certain force that not only drives them towards success, but happiness as well.

When a person is motivated by the perks and incentives of completing a task rather than the completion of the task itself, the job will get done, but the feeling of satisfaction will be immensely mitigated.

Since the majority of us are aspiring to attend colleges with relatively competitive admission policies, the most appropriate analogy would be extracurricular activities.

Countless amounts of the students applying to colleges feel pressured to be able to inscribe impressive extracurricular activities on their college applications; therefore, masses of us rush to sign up for school clubs that perform services benefiting the community, tryout for school sports, or search for standout internships or jobs, amongst other activities that our parents and counselors believe will appear notable to college admissions officers.

But were colleges uninterested in students who excel in areas outside of normal classroom duties, I dare say a small percentage of us would volunteer for trash duty on a singularly filthy beach in Half Moon Bay.

Picking up trash isn’t what fosters joy; whether it’s playing your favorite sport, participating in the school play, or joining choir, our hobbies are what fosters joy, and what fosters joy is what time should really be spent on.

In other words, it is pointless to do something if you don’t love it.

The way I see it, as an adult, when rummaging through your past and pulling out your high school years, you will not think back and say, “You know, I should have picked up more trash from the beaches.”

But if you pursue something you truly love, the memories you create in the process will undeniably impact your life forever.

Personally, I have given up many hobbies for alternative activities, some of which I enjoyed and some of which I did not, and now immensely regret it.

Lacing up my cleats, pulling my socks over my shin guards, and stepping onto a freshly mowed field is what I miss the most.

The adrenaline of brushing past the last defender, pushing the ball out just enough to achieve the perfect angle, aiming for the back of the net and watching the expression of disappointment on the keeper’s face used to be the ultimate source of joy for me.

Nowadays, my focus has been redirected to reaching one destination: college. I am doing everything I can to ensure myself a spot in an UC or CSU, but, as I stated earlier, success coexisting with delight is achieved by passion.

My passion is playing soccer, and this is why I plan to cut out unnecessary, dissatisfying activities from my life in order to bring the joy it brought me back into my life.

Hopefully, anyone who has given up a beloved hobby as well will consider making the time to get back to what they love.

Otherwise, the decision to do what makes one unhappy will become a sequence, progress to a trend, and eventually solidify into a way of life.