The Stress of Stress

Let’s talk about the insane stress levels that we as juniors and seniors are subjected to. I know that it is customary and a “rite-of-passage” of sorts for high school students to have hard and heavy work load during these years, but the amount of stress that we are put under is slightly ridiculous. 

In a study published by the journal, Frontiers in Psychology, it was found that “49 percent of students reported feeling “a great deal of stress” on a daily basis. Half reported doing three or more hours of homework per night, and 26 percent noted that they had been diagnosed with depression—over four times the national average of 6 percent,” especially those in Honors and Advanced Placement courses. 

Now, not all stress is bad. For instance, sometimes stress can be a wonderful tool to motivate you to get things done. Without a little bit of stress, society would be full of procrastinators and we wouldn’t be prepared for the work force. However, the amount of stress we are under is too much. We work towards the best grades, sign up for difficult courses and push ourselves to our limits because we know, and are terrified of, the competition for the education we desire after we cross that stage for that diploma. Most of us are depending on scholarships. Most of us have other school activities that we like, and maybe also do because we know that colleges and universities are more likely to accept us if we have a more impressive resume. 

But why is it such a big deal? Because the crazy stress levels leak into our lives in all sorts of different areas. I know so many people who come to school on unhealthy amounts of sleep… I’m talking three to four hours because of the mass amounts of homework we are given. Some of us are required to get a job to pay for simple necessities at home and have to work at night, and then go home and start on homework. Some of us are passionate about sports or the musical or other extra-curriculars that require us to stay after school for anywhere from one hour to six. Imagine the stress of knowing that after you finish doing the things that make you happy, or the things you have to for to get basic necessities, you have to go home and start your homework that you know in the end won’t be an accurate representation of your abilities simply because you don’t have enough hours in the day, AND THEN in the back of your mind a little clock ticks down the hours you are working on assignments that you are losing sleep and minute by minute approaching the time when your alarm starts beeping and you have to get up and do it all again. All because you are told this is what you must to do in order to succeed. No wonder the suicide rate amongst teens go up every year. 

I used to love to read. I could read a 600 page book in two days and damn right I was proud of it. Now? I haven’t read for pleasure since June. I don’t have time to pick up a new hobby. Sometimes I am required to be at school at 6:30 AM and can’t leave until 8:30 PM for JROTC. I know the Swim Team has to do it, too, along with many other activities. This kind of stress surrounds us and sometimes I feel like I will be totally burned out by the time I receive my diploma and move on to the next level of my education. 

This time in my life that I always thought was supposed be the best… the “good old days” I would look back on. And although I do have amazing experiences, taking breaks always 

seems to come at a cost. I race around from task to task and I feel like I have a stone in my chest because of all the things I am required to do to get where I need to in life. There are so many studies of schools reducing their student’s homework quantity and reporting even better grades than before the reduction. 

And still, despite it all, we push on, dragging our stones along with us, determined to lug our heavy hearts and minds and eyes across the finish line to “success.”