Most people have heard the saying “less is more” at some point in life when they have taken on too much. That saying really should be applied to life, especially for high school students – it should be something that they live by. High schoolers are told to join all the clubs they possibly can, try new sports, get good grades, hand in work on time, volunteer and on top of that still “take care of their mental health.” Not only is that unrealistic, but they are also pressured to uphold a strong social life and presence.
Now, this is not to say that high schoolers should drop out of school, turn in assignments late or quit all their activities. But, it does come to a point where students are just too busy.
“If I have plans with my family or my friends, it’s hard to sometimes balance [my social life with] school, especially during my [sports] season,” SPFHS sophomore Sofia Linderman told The Fanscotian.
This is a common problem faced by not only high school students, but also most individuals. Balancing all activities and priorities is something that can get complicated. All of this can draw attention away from things that matter, while leading to unmanageable stress.
A survey of 125 students at SPFHS revealed that 60% of students find it difficult to balance a full school day schedule and workload with extra curricular activities and a social life.
“I find it super hard to balance [all of my activities] because a lot of the time I’m working… If I have something after school like a club, and then a sport, I have to make sure I get everything done and homework is just the bare minimum. It feels like I have a lot of extra stuff, which makes it super hard to balance,” SPFHS sophomore Millie Saltzman said.
The question is, why do students continue to put themselves through all this stress? Why not just focus on what really matters? Students today are faced with so much pressure, whether it’s from their school, family or even themselves. This can influence them to pile on so many activities and take on too much responsibility, because they think it looks good on paper.
“I feel like sometimes I am pressured to do outside [of school] activities because I want to get into a good college and to have a good future. [This pressure] starts in high school,” Linderman said.
Of the 125 SPFHS students polled, 50% of them reported that they feel the most pressure regarding school and activities, from the school itself, 28% of students feel the most pressure from themselves and 19% of students reported feeling the most pressure from their families. Other students reported feeling pressure from future plans and just life itself.
“When you’re a freshman, there’s so many new things and everyone’s like, ‘oh you have to start early for college,’” SPFHS freshman Isabella Carissimo said.
All of this overachieving and this constant state of being busy inevitably leads to burn out. Eighty five percent of students at SPFHS confirmed this, reporting that they have experienced burnout.
“I definitely [experience burn out]; sometimes I feel like I don’t go out as much because I have a lot and I’m tired or I don’t want to do certain things because I’m so busy,” Carissimo said.
According to Challenge Success, a survey conducted that 90% of high school students are sleep deprived. It is common for students to put their workload above everything else, even if that means sacrificing their mental or physical health.
It is not how much one can do. Instead it is the quality of what one does and what it all means to them. Being too busy does not always equal success, as burn out is very much real in the world of high school.
