I need to say that I am incredibly overwhelmed. “Entirely overstimulated, stress-induced insomnia, needing to sleep curled in fetal position” kind of overwhelmed. These past two years have been fun, I guess, but the amount of stress that I have is unreal. Teachers, parents, and adults in general have unrealistic expectations of high school students, and it’s hurting our mental health as a result.
In my honors English class, we are working on rhetorical analysis. When analyzing text, we ask ourselves if the author is credible. To put it plainly, we ask the question, “Why should I listen to this random person on the internet spouting about an issue that I’ll (probably) never think about again?” Usually, we search the web for credibility and reasons why we’re reading this article, and if we should take them seriously. So for those who are probably mentally asking, no, I am not a world renowned author, a professor, or a person with a degree, but I am a stressed teenager who has been a student for over a decade, so technically, I am a professional.
In Elementary school, I was the kid everyone said was “going places.” So far, I’ve only been at my desk, my bed, and the occasional lick of sunshine I get. Homework consumes a lot of my time. As a student receiving average grades, I do an average of approximately 6.5 hours of homework per night, and that doesn’t include studying. The majority of students that I know also have this issue of doing hours upon hours of homework per night, which is detrimental to our health. For example, in our Health classes, we are told to get 8-10 hours of sleep each night, but for the average Brooks College Prep student, this is unrealistic.
In my honors English class, we are working on rhetorical analysis. When analyzing text, we ask ourselves if the author is credible. To put it plainly, we ask the question, “Why should I listen to this random person on the internet spouting about an issue that I’ll (probably) never think about again?” Usually, we search the web for credibility and reasons why we’re reading this article, and if we should take them seriously. So for those who are probably mentally asking, no, I am not a world renowned author, a professor, or a person with a degree, but I am a stressed teenager who has been a student for over a decade, so technically, I am a professional.
In Elementary school, I was the kid everyone said was “going places.” So far, I’ve only been at my desk, my bed, and the occasional lick of sunshine I get. Homework consumes a lot of my time. As a student receiving average grades, I do an average of approximately 6.5 hours of homework per night, and that doesn’t include studying. The majority of students that I know also have this issue of doing hours upon hours of homework per night, which is detrimental to our health. For example, in our Health classes, we are told to get 8-10 hours of sleep each night, but for the average Brooks College Prep student, this is unrealistic.
Being a typical high school student, I’m already riddled with the coming-of-age mindset, occasional body dysmorphia, and questioning reality. When I experience mood swings and confidence issues, I find myself struggling to stand on my own two feet. Along with the multiple hours of homework I’m doing, I am also trying not to let my emotions get the better of me, trying to like the way I look, and not stare at the wall thinking about the meaning of life. A lot of the time, I end up rage-quitting my homework, or trying to power through without any subsistence or rest to combat my working ethic. Constantly, I am speeding through assignments without rest, which shows through my work. I used to be able to obtain ‘decent’ grades, now I become disappointed whenever I look at Aspen. Even though I work like a dog, day and night, my grades are dropping on a consistent basis. Without the recharging and decompressing, I work extremely hard with grades that don’t reflect that.
It’s important that we find the time for ourselves to relax and destress. If we keep going, and going, and going, without a break, we’ll end up running out of gas and just end up stopping. When teenagers are working themselves to the bone and don’t get any rest, we crash. Crashing is worse than taking that little break to watch an episode of your favorite TV show. In conclusion, this (very) poorly written op-ed is to say that although I will put in the work, I’d like a break. Writing this for the BALM’s May issue was completely draining, even though I did enjoy calculating how much sleep I’d get if I finished this. Even though I won’t be taking my own advice due to the AP Government test I have tomorrow, you should find the time to unwind and rest. Happy Last Quarter, everyone!
It’s important that we find the time for ourselves to relax and destress. If we keep going, and going, and going, without a break, we’ll end up running out of gas and just end up stopping. When teenagers are working themselves to the bone and don’t get any rest, we crash. Crashing is worse than taking that little break to watch an episode of your favorite TV show. In conclusion, this (very) poorly written op-ed is to say that although I will put in the work, I’d like a break. Writing this for the BALM’s May issue was completely draining, even though I did enjoy calculating how much sleep I’d get if I finished this. Even though I won’t be taking my own advice due to the AP Government test I have tomorrow, you should find the time to unwind and rest. Happy Last Quarter, everyone!
Damienne McCottrell
