You walk into school; the first bell hasn’t even rung yet, and students are already thinking about everything they have to get done that day and are worrying about events after school. While managing school, a job, families, sports, and planning the close future ahead of them, it can feel like there is never enough time.
While teachers and parents see students showing up to class every day may not know the emotional and academic burden they carry on a day-to-day basis. Students deal with stress that adults don’t always notice on a regular basis.
Being a student today can feel like a balancing act. Many students are expected to get good grades, go to college, get a good job, and support their future right away and still try to somehow have time to spend with friends or family.
On top of all of that, students nowadays often compare themselves to anyone and everyone who is doing better than and it just puts an even bigger burden on them.
“Whenever I get on social media, I see people achieving big things and overcoming huge obstacles. I often compare myself to them even though I’m way younger”. Alexis Parks, a student at Lakeland High School, said. “I think all younger students should look over their lives and just take a deep breath to realize how well they are doing”.
Other students often feel like there is always another assignment to attend, or a practice to show up to, and more expectations to meet. Even though adults want their kids and students to do well in the near future ahead of them, they may want to ask or check up on how that student or child is feeling, or ask how overwhelming these responsibilities can become.
High school students all have different experiences, but many share similar feelings about the years it has brought them.
One student could feel like practice and homework in school can be too overwhelming, and another can say that it’s hard to balance a part time job and full time student every day. One thing that these students all struggle with is how they need to figure out what to do with themselves after high school ends.
Even though many of their situations are different, many students describe feeling stressed, exhausted, or worried about falling behind. Their feelings show that the constant stress and pressure can cause them an emotional burden that only puts them on stress and tiredness from the work they do.
The pressure doesn’t just affect the highest students or athletes in the class but it actually can affect almost anyone.
Counselors and teachers may see the stress or exhaustion a student shows in the students they see and talk to every day. They also recognize that some struggles aren’t always the most visible to see.
A counselor may be able to explain why a student may be feeling upset or stressed out, whether it be about academics, sports, relationships, or future plans. Teachers may also be able to notice the students who seem distracted, tired, or the ones who look and feel anxious in class.
Mentors and their perspectives can help explain why student stress has become more common in the average student’s life and how local schools can help support these kids in becoming better versions of themselves.
“If students could open up about their struggles, mentors could help them achieve their goals stress-free. ” Paige Carey, said. “Even if you aren’t completely comfortable with your most trusted adult, opening up can change your overall mindset on how you feel”.
A big reason adults don’t notice the struggles their kids go through is that students may not want to worry their parents, especially if things are tense around their home. Another reason adults may be oblivious to these feelings is because of the fact that students may not think that their mentors or trusted friends would understand or that they might not be supportive of their loved ones’ feelings.
From the outside, students may look fine as they show up to class on time, turn in their assignments, and keep a happy face all day as a so-called mask to cover up the constant stress, anxiety, and pressure that these kids face at such a young age.
Students, teachers, counselors, and parents all try to build certain ideas to reduce unnecessary stress and take away from their problems. Some believe schools should provide more mental health support and a person who can try to get to know their students to further examine their feelings and how they may be able to help.
Others feel that students need more opportunities to talk openly about how they might feel and what they have been experiencing through their tough times.
Many students may feel that simply being listened to can make a huge difference in the way they can talk about things and how they can clear their heads in an easier way.
By working together, schools and families can work hard to make a comfortable environment where these hard working, stressed students can feel more supported than the constant feeling of being overwhelmed.
The pressure students face isn’t always so obvious that you can tell right away and maybe give them the support they need, but hidden to where you don’t know the struggles they might be going through to feel this way. Whether it comes down to the constant stress of having a part-time job while also maintaining sports, school, family relationships, and the unsureness of the near future, it’s important to stay calm and seek help from a guided mentor or someone you love and trust so you can get the help you deserve.
Learning how these students feel can not only help them but the future students succeed in not only school, but what the near future brings them to accomplish.
“A part-time job whilst having school, sports, and all the other things one might have to worry about can help strengthen one’s ability to manage time and work well,” Braxton Reimche said. “Having someone who can help is also important so you don’t fall apart or fall behind. I worked at Silverwood during school time and had to work around homework and whatnot, but my mom helped me do well.”
For today’s students, stress comes from not only the hard work but the social burden of being a high school student. Many worry about fitting in with the rest of the students around them just for the sake of being liked. Students and kids in the modern day are harsh and can be very rude, so these students try their best to look good and do everything right so that they can be liked by the others around them.
Some students may feel unsure about what they want to do after graduation, so they follow in other students’ footsteps and just do whatever they do, so they never really look and try hard to get where they truly want to be in life.
Many students say that the hardest part about stress is that it isn’t always visible. Unlike a broken bone or an illness, stress is often a topic that people like to keep to themselves, especially students.
A student may get the best grades in their class or be the best athlete or be the most successful, but they may be hiding a big amount of pressure behind the scenes.
“I know that it may never show,” Avy Murphy said. “The immense amount of homework and tests has really started to pile up on me and has really started to make me feel like a less successful student and person.”
For many teenagers, when the final bell rings, the day doesn’t necessarily end but it comes with sport practice, events, and other extra curriculars. After all the work they’ve already done after school, they have to come home to prepare for the upcoming test that they have and get caught up on the homework they’re already so far behind on.
As a result of this, many students feel that they are constantly exhausted and they never get a break to ease their minds off of things and take a breather from the stress they cause themselves.
Social media can also add a huge layer of pressure. Students are also heavily exposed to the posts showing achievements, vacations, athletic success, or college acceptances.
Seeing these highlights can make some students feel like they are behind in life or that they may never amount to anything, so they push harder to become someone that they’ve dreamed of, to realize that it all wasn’t for anything in the end.
They may still be stressed even after being able to afford the vacations or get a college acceptance, because this does nothing but add stress to your mind, which you don’t need.
“I personally have a huge goal for my future, working in the healthcare field and making it to an Ivy league school, however I know although doing that also means just more and more school, and to me more and more school also means more and more stress”. Zama Aguilar, a student at Lakeland High School said. “ something that is extremely manageable, but also extremely deteriorating on the minds of young students.”
So while social media is a way to connect with many friends, it can also create unrealistic expectations for the future generation.
Because students have become used to handling these hard pressures and burdens everyday, adults may not realize how stressful these days might be for their child. By listening to students’ experiences, we can empathize with them and become their stress takers to ease their minds and help them become better people.