During high school, stress seems to be common ground for every student. Each student at Naz has his or her own obligations that can affect their levels of stress. Each year of high school brings about new challenges and more responsibilities as students prepare for college. Freshmen enter their first year overwhelmed with change as they try to adjust to new surroundings, new faces, and a new academic schedule. Sophomores become more independent as more is expected of them. Most students, however, refer to junior and senior year as the most stressful. Junior year, the year that colleges focus most upon, includes a substantial amount of homework and projects, in addition to preparing for the ACT and SAT.
Molly Gros, a current junior at Nazareth claims, “I have hours of homework every night and am stressing myself out about the ACT and SAT. Junior year is by far the hardest year!” Senior year also poses to be difficult for students as they begin college applications and try to balance them between their other schoolwork.
Alexis Veliotis, a senior who is dances for the Nazareth Poms team explains, “I am most stressed with finding time for college apps, homework and Poms. I wish I could set aside time strictly to work on applications along with scholarship essays.”
The guidance department, seeking to be a place for students to come to when they are struggling, offers some insightful tips to help out stressed students. Mr. Green, a guidance counselor, recommends that students don’t over commit to too many projects at once and prioritize their time wisely. He suggests students talk to their teachers and if all else fails, come up to guidance where counselors can help students with a personalized schedule. Guidance also offers help in setting up a National Honors Society tutor who can help students in a subject they are struggling with, including homework help and studying tips. Guidance invites students to make an appointment any time, especially seniors, who have first priority as they work on their applications. They also have support groups available for students to attend if they are dealing with a personal situation outside of school that is affecting their schoolwork.
Here are some tips to follow that can help you deal with stress and anxiety about school:
Organize yourself, your assignments, and your priorities. Things become easier when you plan things out for yourself.
Manage your time. Even though procrastination is an easy way out for most students, working on projects such as a research paper little by little can ease the pressure.
Set goals and due dates for yourself. When you make your own guidelines, it is easier to follow them.
Don’t try and do everything all at once- rather spread out priorities with what you need to get done first and what can wait.
Get work done first, and then relax! It is easy to waste time watching TV or being on the internet but if you can get work done first, it won’t have to hang over your head.
Don’t worry about what you can’t control. Everyone has homework, papers, and projects to accomplish so you don’t have to feel like you’re the only one with so much to do!
As Mr. Gonzalez says, “You put pressure into tires, not on yourselves!”, meaning don’t freak yourself out in trying to tackle all the things you have to get done. Work hard and do what works best for you and your day-to-day schedule!