The pressure builds and stress levels shoot through the roof. Exams are right around the corner. I can feel a palpable tension in the air. Everyone around me is visibly stressing about our Language I.P.A.s (Inter-personal assessment) and studying for exams that we will be taking a week from Thursday. The reality of it keeps hitting me, as I continue to reject even the idea of exams and procrastinate with my studying. I remember this is nothing however, because compared to next year this is cake. Truthfully, that concerns me more than my upcoming exams. The fact that I feel stressed about my current course load makes me wonder how much worse I will feel through next year.
Junior year holds a lot in terms of stress and workload. Many students are pursuing an AP for the first time or expanding the amount they have taken in the past. Extracurriculars are becoming increasingly important for resume building, and of course, the Oral History Project looms over all of us. That’s not even including SAT and ACT test prep and the tests themselves, college visits, and any time for a social life.
This all sounds extremely daunting, so the question has to be asked: How do we deal with all of it?
The extra curriculars are important, not only for college, but because they break up the monotony of what school life can look like. They serve the double purpose of being relaxing but beneficial to the college application process simultaneously. This easing of stress has a large impact on grades as well as overall happiness and wellbeing during the year. Activities such as sports or school clubs help accomplish both these goals and will remain important through this upcoming year.
General relaxation and down time will also play a big role in remaining sane through the next year and a half. It is always important to remember to maintain a healthy balance of schoolwork and a social life. As the saying goes, “Work Hard, Play Hard.” Making sure that you keep a healthy amount of social activity as well as downtime for yourself will be critical in the upcoming years.
Finally, it is necessary to remember that even though stresses and challenges increase each year, our ability to cope with and overcome these also increase. Even though we might not feel it, we are constantly growing psychologically. Along with that comes the capacity to deal with the challenges that we will be faced with and our ability to handle stress.
Essentially, get yourself mentally prepared for next year. It will not be easy, but don’t stress over it either. By the start of the new school year, we will all have the ability to deal with anything that is thrown at us. So don’t stress, don’t fret, and have a great summer.