It is harder than ever for teens to get into college and be able to pay for it. The high standards of “good” schools push high school students to excel in academics, sports, extracurricular activities, volunteerism, all while maintaining their health and social wellbeing. Students can no longer just do activities that they are passionate about, instead they focus on what will look best on their college applications. A student interested in writing or politics still has to take advanced math and science courses in order to improve their chances of getting accepted into their dream college. Adding on a few academic and nonacademic extracurricular activities while balancing a healthy sleep schedule and a social life seems almost impossible. And it is.
A student’s self worth is often dependent on their achievements. Those that attend schools that are traditionally high achieving face much higher rates of stress, anxiety, and depression when compared to students that attend schools with lower expectations. If students feel as though they cannot keep up with their peers, this easily makes school an anxiety filled environment. The pressure to perform is higher than ever, and failure to do so pushes teens to doubt themselves, their capabilities, and their value.
Downtime is a concept that is unfamiliar to many American teenagers. They are always told that there is room to improve and ways to grow, so the idea of sitting around and being bored seems useless. Productiveness has become so important to teens that they can no longer take a break without thinking of all the other activities they could be doing, but this should not be how they live. Teens actually thrive off of time spent reading, being outside, watching TV, or even doing household chores. I, myself, am a rising junior in high school, and I cannot remember the last time I went outside just to enjoy the fresh air. The strict schedule that teens put themselves on in order to reach their academic goals is keeping them from enjoying themselves. Mental health is low on the priority list of many teenagers, and that needs to change.
Often, parents and peers try to alleviate stress by telling a student to not “put so much pressure on themselves.” Unfortunately, they fail to recognize that society has placed this pressure on students and not the students themselves. We need to focus on reteaching the value of mental and emotional wellbeing, and not always to prioritize academic achievement over all else. As a community, we should be encouraging students to perform to the best of their ability, but to not consider their achievements to be what defines them in life. It’s far better to have a healthy minded student with mediocre grades than a student who carries a constant burden of pressure with a high grade point average. Let’s not allow the youth to forget that their priority should always be their own wellbeing.
