Stress in School ~ Part 1

   Well, we're well into the school year. Schedule changes are long since settled, homework loads are starting to regulate, and grades are starting to roll in. Basically, school is back to normal. For many students, myself included, school creates stress. This is completely understandable; we have teacher/parent expectations to uphold, social needs to fill, and sleep quotas to meet.
   I'd think most people would agree stress sucks. It isn't unique to school, employees have bosses to please, deadlines to meet, adults have bills to pay, etc. But personally, I believe that it falls short on adults the stress that we deal with on a day to day basis.
   For example, my day starts at 5:30. I'm at school by 6:30, normally reviewing notes, literature, or working on assignments while I wait for the first bell to ring. English starts, we complete a short classwork assignment, practice grammar, discuss literature, and take notes. Quiz on Tuesday, test Friday. The bell rings, second hour class begins. We go over notes, hold a class discussion, and try to wrap our minds our knowledge issues. Essay due Monday. Third period, history. Notes out before the bell rings, reviewing, preparing to fight for required class participation points in a class of thirty students. Take notes, and make sure to write anything that could be on an essay test. Relate it to the syllabus. IA Sources due Friday. Essay test Monday. Pop quiz in the near future. Fourth hour: Spanish. Round robin homework review, grammar lesson, class discussion. Daily homework, quiz Thursday, project due Monday. Lunch, three more classes with more tests, quizzes, and homework.
   Not to mention, don't forget to work on your college applications, look for scholarships, participate in extracurricular activities, volunteer, keep a job, sleep, keep up a hobby, and hey, remember you have those exams at the end of the year, better start studying now.
   I'm in no way complaining, and I understand my course selections probably account for the majority of the work I do, but this is just an example of a day at school. Seven hours spent at school, plus anywhere from one to five hours of homework every day, but school is a major cause of stress.
   If you're dealing with stress caused by school, believe me, you are not alone. Everyone feels the pressure, no matter how much it seems they don't, and everyone is trying to work through it. My next couple of blog posts will deal with ways to manage stress, tips for developing (and sticking to) a schedule, focusing, and keeping up with schoolwork. I hope they help!