High School : High Stress

Student stress, workloads, and planning ahead.

High school, often considered “the best years” of our lives, but how much of that is true? Living in Anaheim provides student’s with a variety of opportunities and advantages pertaining to their futures. Yet, to what extent do these advantages help students enjoy high school?

Nationwide studies have been conducted to measure a student’s stress in high school. Of course factors come into play such as, class difficulties, grade level, and family issues. A survey conducted by The Princeton Review showed that 50% of high school students nationwide feel stressed. What could this mean, but more importantly how could student’s prevent a stressful high school experience?

There is no definite answer to prevent stress as it is- and seemingly none in the future, but students and parents could still take measures to help lessen stress.

Perhaps a good place to start is acknowledging where stress comes from. A study done by NYU shows that students often feel pressured by parents; this pressure often comes with the idea of college’s, sports, and prep courses. Parental pressure could often transform into one pressuring themselves with large wants and goals. Such pressure could be good, as it could help a student become motivated, other times pressure may become to much. According to Healthline, too much stress could cause anxiety, irritability, and depression.

So what is too much stress? Acknowledging the signs of a stress overload are important to achieve a fun high school experience. First check your own emotions, what are you feeling? What factors are contributing to this emotion, is it something you could prevent, or something completely out of your control. If it is within your control, such as finishing an assignment, then do so first and then look back on why this created an issue for you. Take notice of your emotions and feelings to make sure you are content with your situation. It is important for high school students to notice what constitutes as depressed, and temporarily sad. Depression is a serious issue and must be addressed, if you feel that this is the case, reach out to others, such as your parents/guardians, counselors, and friends.

Class selection is a major part of high school, and choosing the right classes may be hard. Make sure to take classes that you feel you’re comfortable with, do not take classes simply because friends are taking them. Challenging yourself is good, but do so with moderation- try not to jump into a class without an idea of what to expect. Remember, classes are important but having fun with sports and other extracurriculars is important as well.

As you progress in high school, look back at your grades and work ethic in classes before selecting the next level; talking to your current teacher could help when picking which level to advance into. Talking to other students may help regarding the workload and challenges of new classes. Honors, AP and IB courses are good, but ask yourself before you take them- “Am I willing to put in the necessary amount of work?”.

High school work loads could also differ per teacher and class, this factor may be completely out of your control. When taking harder classes, expect the amount of work and studying you have to put in to be larger. Time management is key, getting an agenda or other organizational tool to help keep track and plan for classes may help. Instead of procrastinating a project or studying the night before, try working on it a bit per day. For AP and IB tests, review guides are available in the library, reviewing with these may help you prepare for the tests.

Extracurriculars are also a large part of high school. Finding a balance between sports and school could be challenging, but knowing your sports schedule will be useful. Knowing when games and practices take place could help you plan when to study and when to be with friends. The same is applied to the art’s and clubs, know when practices and other important events happen. These often make school fun and memorable, so make sure to try to join an extracurricular; but keep in mind it is that- an extra part of high school.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Whether it be for a sport, or a class, Canyon offers a variety of programs to help students. It is O.K for student’s to struggle in classes, each student is different. After school tutoring is available throughout the year at Canyon, and student’s are encouraged to utilize this tool.

Overall make sure before starting a new school year that you understand course loads and the amount of work needed for them. Remember that sometimes it’s O.K to stop doing an activity or switch classes. A balance must be achieved between hard work and fun, try taking classes for fun- and for work. The future is near, but high school is much more than college prep so don’t stress. Enjoy it, and plan ahead, just don’t forget to factor in fun.