Let's Get Real

I suppose that since I'm an upperclassman now, it makes sense for me to feel more stressed out. But I think part of it is the culture of this school. There's the strangest sense of stealing time away from homework whenever you're doing something else. Right now as I type this, I'm trying to recall what I have left to do tonight. Unfortunately for me, when I'm stressed the first thing that I lose is my memory.

Some people take stress better than others. Some write excellent essays, some can't spell their names. Everyone eventually breaks under constant stress, though. Watching the seniors going through their applications for college is terrifying. I know that's going to be me next year, hovering precariously around breaking point. 

When my parents were teens, life was still stressful. My parents didn't have it easy growing up, and in many ways I have life considerably easier than they do. However, they didn't have expectations weighing heavily on their shoulders. They didn't have to think about how many AP courses they could take, and which ones were easier than others. They worried about their college applications, but they didn't place all their hopes, dreams, ambitions and souls on them. 

Yes, living in the "real world" is difficult. There's lots of hard work there. But as teenagers, it's not healthy for us to work quite as hard. We shouldn't feel guilty when we want to head out to a movie with friends or go for a walk. There are ways to learn outside the classroom that may be more beneficial than sitting and learning about numbers. Teenagers are not adults yet, but we take on the workload and the stress of adults and are expected to still be cheerful. When we're not, adults roll their eyes and hope we grow out of the phase soon. Well, adults don't take stress so well either, so excuse us when we've only gotten 5 hours of sleep and still have work left undone. 

There's got to be a way to change this system. There are a shocking number of students who go to school but manage to learn nothing. Perhaps it's because there are some people who aren't supposed to get great grades and go on to get their PhDs. Maybe it's because not everyone can be brilliant, despite the culture of this school. 

Maybe we should all just stop worrying about our futures, live in the moment, and cherish that we are young. Maybe we should make mistakes, because we'll learn from them in the future. And maybe I should stop writing now, because I still have another 2 hours of homework to do. 

In the meantime, since things won't change, I hope the seniors get into the college of their choice, the juniors get great SAT scores, the sophomores get used to so much homework, and the freshman stop getting lost around campus.

:)