Graphic courtesy of Derek Marshall.

You wake up to the blaring sound of your alarm clock and sigh as you begin to think of the arduous day ahead. Nevertheless, you push yourself out of bed and get ready for school.

After a long eight hours at school, the train doesn’t come to a stop. Extracurricular activities, sports, jobs, and other obligations await you. By the time you get home, you only have a few hours left to eat dinner, get ready for bed, and complete multiple hours of homework.

You aren’t alone. 51% of US teens are told at least once a month that they appear stressed or burnt out. Additionally, 61% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 feel stressed over producing satisfactory grades. Although one can acknowledge that a little bit of stress is beneficial – as it could help you reach your goals – can the stress become too much?

“The standardized testing, all my advanced courses, and college pressure have contributed to the burnout,” junior Isabella Adams said. “The burnout is way more apparent in the second semester as I have standardized testing actually coming up, APs are ramping up, and I feel like everyone is stressed as everything gets more intense.”

Adams is not the only LFHS student who feels this way.  

“There is a lot of pressure to take high-level courses since there are so many offered at the school,” said junior Devin Parsons. “Though I also think some of it is the competitive nature at the school which may push people to take more higher level courses.”

Pressure and expectations seem to be building by the day for high school students. How do you know when to take a step back? 

“Something I have learned throughout my high-school experience is to not procrastinate as it really adds the stress if I wait too long,” said Adams. “Another thing I make sure I do is just get enough rest and prioritize myself at times.”

Junior Miles Mackey faces the day-to-day stressors of a high school student in a rather optimistic way.

“The pressure is what you make of it. I used to struggle with it, but then I just didn’t want to put that pressure on myself anymore,” said Mackey. “I try not to dedicate too much time to school work as that has only brought negative effects, so I also try to find other things to do.”

Counselors also take notice to the stress that many high schoolers feel, and acknowledge that learning to deal with these pressures takes experience. Student counselor Mrs. Molly Lamick said, “We have so many great academic opportunities that sometimes students may want to take advantage of as many as they can.”

She has seen students be able to counter-act their struggles by deciding to dedicate their energy to something different than schoolwork, and believes “underclassmen will gain perspective as they move throughout their years of high school.”