We all feel stress in our lives. Life as a teenager can be pretty difficult sometimes. Stress seems to continuously pile up every day and it’s hard to know how to cut down. Not all stress is negative. Sometimes stress is the only thing there to help push us through. There are many different forms through which stress comes to us. It can come in the form of academics, extracurricular activities, or your job. Other places our stress comes from can be dating, parents, and peers.
Stress from school is often the biggest contributor to the stress levels of a teenager.
“I think that school adds stress to my life because I put so much emphasis on it which pushes me to the best that I can,” says senior Meagan Reiners
Extracurricular activities are a good thing to be a part of for college admissions, but too many can lead to a very stressful high school life.
“With all of my activities, it’s helped me balance my time more. But you need to find a balance of the things you like the most. I feel that if I didn’t have my extracurriculars I would be stressed enough to keep up with all my other stuff,” said Reiners
If you’re a student who also has a part time job, your stress levels may be even higher.
It is really hard to work and do school because not only do I have other activities that I’m involved in but I have homework. If I have to work the same night I have a lot of homework, it’s nearly impossible to get everything done.
“For seniors, they almost need several extra hours in the day to do all the applications for scholarships, it can be tot be pretty overwhelming,” Counselor Patt McConnaughhay said.
Parents want their children to succeed in school. They want to see good grades, but they also want to see success in life’s other areas. Parents can become one of the major causes of stress on students.
“It’s a balancing act. You want to encourage them and do their best but there are other things going on at the same time so you need to keep those things in mind. Students do have other things going on. They think about their social lives, things like prom and Valentines Day. Then they have other commitments like to their church and there are only so many hours in the day, but you wan them to be well rounded. Their community, school and church activities are important,” McConnaughhay said.
The important thing to remember is to have fun with your high school experience, and don’t let stress take over your life.
