Stress For Success
Kennedy Dunning
Kennedy Dunning
School is said to a place where a student can explore and reach their full potential. A place where you can find strength in knowledge and support in friends. However, one in five of American students show signs of mental illness such as depression, severe anxiety, and substance abuse. “Why does this happen?” , you may ask? From the beginning, the system has started with incentives. The fewer mistakes you make, the more rewards you will receive. Perhaps a gold star or your test on the refrigerator as a kid, but as a teen getting good grades means better classes, better opportunities, and better colleges. There is even a school ranking that stigmatizes the students with low GPAs and applauds the one student who is nearest to perfection.
No matter the intellect or rank, every student has felt the overwhelming stress to maintain academic success, especially in high school. Never before have you had to face such pressure to balance homework, projects, extracular activities, SATs, first jobs, romantic relationships, family conflicts, college applications and the general the fear of getting older. Amongst this chaos, you may feel like you are going too slow and it will never end. This state of being is universal for teens. Kaitlyn Rodriguez, a junior at Hillgrove, balances her social life, AP classwork and three hours color guard practices after school. She, like many, does not know how to handle these stressful situations. After receiving heaps of work during her Sophomore year, “I cried and talked to my parents. I had to hear them say they were proud of me. I didn't want to disappoint them.” This system of competition does not create more winners, it creates more teams ; countless teams checking the scoreboard of scantrons and basing their self esteem on what they see.
How do we end this endless cycle? It starts with the adults. Adults who understand mental illness and the extent it plays on life, especially in youth. Adults who truly want to help. Adults like Ms. Wiggins and Mrs.Blackmon ,who have help students like Kennedy Moore find refuge from stressors and a build a system to handle them in the future. According to local Medical Social Worker, Angelia Holland, “The resources are out there. You can always talk to your school counselors if that’s available. You can talk to family, friends, and online hotlines with professionals like me.” There are options out there to help you stay stable in such a moving, competitive world. To all the struggling students out there: this pressure is temporary. One day, this system may change into something that will see its purpose is to bring people together creatively and not to divide.
Stay in school.
No matter the intellect or rank, every student has felt the overwhelming stress to maintain academic success, especially in high school. Never before have you had to face such pressure to balance homework, projects, extracular activities, SATs, first jobs, romantic relationships, family conflicts, college applications and the general the fear of getting older. Amongst this chaos, you may feel like you are going too slow and it will never end. This state of being is universal for teens. Kaitlyn Rodriguez, a junior at Hillgrove, balances her social life, AP classwork and three hours color guard practices after school. She, like many, does not know how to handle these stressful situations. After receiving heaps of work during her Sophomore year, “I cried and talked to my parents. I had to hear them say they were proud of me. I didn't want to disappoint them.” This system of competition does not create more winners, it creates more teams ; countless teams checking the scoreboard of scantrons and basing their self esteem on what they see.
How do we end this endless cycle? It starts with the adults. Adults who understand mental illness and the extent it plays on life, especially in youth. Adults who truly want to help. Adults like Ms. Wiggins and Mrs.Blackmon ,who have help students like Kennedy Moore find refuge from stressors and a build a system to handle them in the future. According to local Medical Social Worker, Angelia Holland, “The resources are out there. You can always talk to your school counselors if that’s available. You can talk to family, friends, and online hotlines with professionals like me.” There are options out there to help you stay stable in such a moving, competitive world. To all the struggling students out there: this pressure is temporary. One day, this system may change into something that will see its purpose is to bring people together creatively and not to divide.
Stay in school.