Stress throughout High School

Elizabeth Hirsch, Videographer

Growing up, many of us watched “High School Musical” and thought that high school was all singing and dancing. In reality, it is full of stress. 

Each year, school gets harder and harder and we adapt to it as it happens. However, along with that comes more stress. 

In Advisory, teachers always talk about how they think we should handle our stress. The only problem is that the teachers never ask us, the students, what we think we should change. Or worse, they do ask us, but they never do anything beyond that.

We need a better way to handle our stress, especially because the end of the year is right around the corner. 

The teachers seem like they want to help with stress, but then they fall short. Teachers are always saying how they know that this is a stressful year, and then turn around and add to that stress by giving us more work due the next day. Teachers do a lot for us when it comes to helping with schoolwork itself, of course, but a lot of us students are still stressed overall. 

Keep in mind, there is also stress in students that is self-inflicted. The stress to be perfect and to be like others can take a toll on the mind. We students need to understand that being perfect isn’t what matters, and yet that’s what students try to be every day. It can leave students tired and defeated, questioning if they are doing something wrong.

Sometimes, even parents add to our stress. Some parents expect us to have perfect grades or always have our work done, and for most students that is the case. However, high school is so much more than good grades. 

Parents and teachers just need to understand we are still kids, and we need to be a little softer on ourselves. Whether you are 15 or 18, don’t you sometimes just want to live in the moment and not have to worry about what tomorrow brings?