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OPINION |
By Danielle Javier
Stress is a normal feeling as we grow up. Stress first becomes a reality for most of us when we become teenagers. However, many don’t know how to manage stress. As a teenager, I rarely feel stress and it’s not because I’m not very active, but due to time management.
I am a 4.0 student and in order to maintain that grade I have to do all my classwork, homework, and do well in tests. An overachiever is how people would describe me, but I am content with what I do. It’s not too much or little.
I feel that stress is a choice, because a person wouldn’t be stressed if they didn’t make certain decisions. It is said that stress is a good thing because it motivates a person to work harder, but feeling it too much can result in negative effects one one’s health, according to the American Psychological Association.
Many teens face stress due to multiple reasons: skipping meals, school, and sleep deprivation. All three are connected, as teens are focused on getting good grades in school, which leads to late nights and then sleeping late.
They then wake up early in order to get to school and forget to eat breakfast. I have been guilty of doing all three but never on the same day. I always eat breakfast because I would have a headache for the rest of the day; I have been late to school multiple times for I didn’t want to miss the most important meal of the day.
However, I rarely ate lunch because the lines were long and I didn’t want to wait. I would just grab an apple and leave, unless the food was good. Then I would cut everyone to get to the front.
I take advanced classes because I know it they the only classes where my fellow classmates take their education seriously. I’m not trying to say that my other classmates are dumb, it’s just that they don’t seem to care about their education, which disrupts the class and I can’t learn anything.
Being in advanced classes takes dedication and persistence because of all the work and tests we have to do. I took History 1A and AP Language and Composition, which was stressful but I survived. The key was time management for me and I didn’t procrastinate because if I fell behind, it would be hard to catch up. I did my homework in advance of both classes and had free time to relax while my other friends were stressing out because they would do things last minute.
I’ve always had a good sleeping schedule, however. Ever since junior year it has been hard for me to go to sleep. I began to sleep at 2 a.m. and would wake up at 6:50 a.m. to get ready for school. There have been multiple times when I would sleep late because I had to do my homework or I would study — but it’s my choice to do that. I prefer doing these things late at night because I can think better and it encourages me to work harder. The faster I get my work done, the faster I can go to sleep and it’s easier to learn information when I read it before sleeping.
I manage stress in many ways. One way is not complaining, because if I do, I realize how much I have to do and it puts me in a bad mood — which puts everyone around me in a bad mood. I also walk around and listen to music because it helps me relax and forget about my responsibilities for a few minutes. When I have many activities, I don’t overthink it and I just do it — because after finishing a task, it’s over!
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