Ok, not sure if you would like potential solutions or just wanted to rant, but if it's the latter, here are some things I'll suggest.
Issue 1:
Educational institutes like community hours. I'm sure you can do a google search for some activities that could give you community hours (I've encountered some that give you hours for just making a poster about social issues, writing letters to front-liners, etc). Or you could peer tutor another student; my friend and I 'peer tutored' each other for different subjects to get hours. Well, basically we do our assignments together sometimes while cheating the system to get community hours lol.
You could join competitions too, whether it's for writing, music, debate, art, academic tests, etc. At the very least, you'll get a certificate of participation. That's still something to add. Like Thara mentioned, scholarships are great things to add too! Even a high academic average or being on the honour roll may be possible things to put since those seem 'important'. Oh, and depending on your school, you might be able to add extracurricular activities too.
If all else fails, just start up a mini NGO for fundraising during your spare time. That worked quite well for me so far (though this may be rather time-consuming).
Issue 2:
To be honest, I prefer courses that are way too easy than those that are overly challenging. After all, just take the exams and do well, while challenging yourself to more difficult concepts outside of class time. Not only do you get a whole lot of free time that you can spend on writing, reading, or cultivating other hobbies, but you can focus specifically on the subjects you're interested in instead of striving to succeed in a number of courses you don't particularly like.
Good luck!