The third quarter is under way, and with its commencement, comes the mountain of stress that periodically envelops students’ lives. For some, this stress is caused by trying to balance schoolwork and extracurricular activities, while making sure the quality of work meets their standards.  

“[My] greatest source of stress comes from having to balance my extracurricular activities with my academic responsibilities. Between dance, Key Club, peer tutoring, and my other extracurricular activities, I have to make time to complete my homework and study so that I can maintain the quality of my work,” said senior Marisa Boch.

Senior Rob Vose agrees that trying to balance academic responsibilities can be overwhelming at times, adding that it can be way to easy to put things off until the last minute.

“Sometimes, teachers give us a lot of work, especially over long weekends. As a teenager, I tend to procrastinate a lot, then end up staring at a huge pile of work,” said Vose.

There is no need to let stress control your life. Finding free time in a super busy schedule, as hard as that can be, is a great way to create balance and lower frustration and anxiety.

“If I manage my time by planning to complete assignments on the days when my extracurricular schedule is less busy, I can reduce some of the stress,” said Boch.

Vose takes the approach of taking on one thing at time.

“I make myself a cup of green tea, put everything away except for one binder, and try to tackle one assignment at a time,” said Vose.

That is not to say that taking on stress needs to be done alone. The Save Our Students group (SOS), founded by seniors Bishme Sheppard and Juanita Wilbur, was created to help students deal with stress and whatever other problems they might be experiencing.

“A lot of students are bothered by what is going on in the world, and we feel that we are being sheltered while we are here. This group helps everyone talk about what is happening, which helps relieve stress,” said Wilbur.

Take a deep breath, try to relax, and try to enjoy the rest of the year. In only three months the summer will be here and we can throw all our cares away.