A Semester of Stressing

Highschool can get busy.  A recent study by apa.org showed that students’ stress levels topped adults this past year.

Many teens love to be busy and love the rush of doing sports, clubs, and maybe even a job all the while handling classes during the normal school day. They will be stretching themselves paper thin just to be able to do everything that they want to do. With this comes a lot of stress and anxiety.

Juggling activities can be difficult, if not impossible, but many people here at the highschool manage to do it.

Kate May, freshman, dances around the clock.  With the highschool dance team and her competition team through her studio both in full swing, she is pretty much dancing every night. On Mondays and Wednesdays she doesn’t get home until 10:15 and on Thursdays not until 8:30. On top of all that, she has a constant homework load and is still figuring out navigating Park Hill South. 

“Sometimes it can be a lot, and I get pretty stressed out but I just try to remain positive,”May says.

Along with being positive, getting a good night’s sleep and eating right keeps her going through the busy times. 

The school has tried to push stress and anxiety relief recently through working with the freshman tutorials.  Tips and tricks like a positive attitude, using a planner to organize upcoming events and meditating/conducting breathing exercises can help with general nerves. 

“I really like how the school in tutorials have given us lessons about stress relief,” Katie Kramer, freshman said. “It can be a little excessive at times, but some of the things they teach I’ve been able to use when I have a lot of things going on.”

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride of highschool. Stop and watch the sun set, and remember to put one foot in front of the other.  Stress is normal and everybody goes through it!