I know I'm whining. I know that a lot of other kids are way more busy and have a lot more stress to deal with. I'm not the only one. So let's talk about the facts.
In article by Sue Scheff, from the Examiner, "Teens and high school stress: 15 facts parents should know", Scheff gives a variety of facts (from other news sources, so there is a actually a multitude of different sources collected into this one article, so I'm counting this as enough for me). Such as:
And personally, I've seen a lot of these statistics in ones who make these statistics in the real world. Not just in teens, but in young adults who go to college. Everyone is working their ass off. It is so, so hard to get anywhere, because there is always a hundred other people trying to get to the same spot---and in this age, only one gets it. It's mentally and emotionally depleting and there's always more to do."It starts much earlier than high school: Increased college competition means increased high school competition. Increased high school competition means increased middle school competition. Increased middle school competition means increased elementary school competition. Once students get to the last four compulsory grades, the pressure to constantly excel and perform has already been shoved into their growing bodies. So when kids do succumb to the pressures, chances are they may very well have been lurking beneath the surface long before freshman year.
Female students feel it harder than their male peers: A survey conducted by the Associated Press and MTV discovered that of the 85% of students claiming they experienced "stress at least sometimes" (if not more than that), most were female. Forty-five percent reported they felt it "frequently," compared to 32% of their male colleagues. Most disconcertingly, the trend seemed to reflect an increase in stress and anxiety levels when compared to surveys from the year before — at least 10 points higher, says MSNBC. Interestingly enough, students hailing from mid-range income families experienced far more pressure than those from low- or high-income ones.
Girls are more likely to suppress their stress: Not only are female students more likely to experience hefty amounts of stress, they also typically handle it more discreetly than males. However, the boys don't always handle it healthily, either — according to Dr. Roni Cohen-Sandler, they typically react to the anxieties by dropping out mentally. Social pressures push girls towards constant perfection in school, extracurriculars, appearances, relationships and friendships without ever growing ragged or showing signs of exhaustion (what sociologist Michael Kimmel refers to as "effortlessly perfect"). In fact, 55% told the psychologist they place almost unnecessary amounts of stress on themselves to maintain society's near-impossible expectations of flawlessness.
School ranks as the highest stressor in high school students' lives: For both females and males between the ages of 13 and 17, school stood as their primary conduit of super stress. Once they hit the 18-to-25-year-old demographic, work supplants academics. But high schoolers face down more anxieties than that, including (but not limited to) bullying, broken homes, substance abuse (or the temptation towards substance abuse), relationships and sex, jobs, extracurricular activities, appearances and more. Girls and young women in particular find themselves petrified for safety reasons at a higher rate than their male counterparts, as they're more likely to be the victims of rape and sexual assault.
GPAs are increasing: In California, at least, where state schools saw a significant rise in the GPAs of incoming freshman between 2003 and 2009. Petaluma360.com's Colleen Rustad noted that UC Davis transitioned from a 3.86 to a 4.0 average, and Berkeley witnessed an increase from 3.58 to 3.61. So while some modicum of positivity can be squeezed out of the overworked teenagers' plight, the serious mental and physical health tolls often render them a rather Pyrrhic victory instead.
Parents can exacerbate the situation…: Even the most well-meaning, loving moms and dads (or grandparents or aunts or uncles or legal guardians) run the risk of contributing to Little Junior or Muffy's ever-mounting anxiety. Although parents and guardians should encourage and support their kids' academic and (within reason) personal goals, they should stay alert for signs of burnout as well. Success (ethically earned, of course) is always great, but should never take precedence over the health, safety and overall well-being of a student, either. The likelihood of entering an Ivy League university even with a perfect record sits between 7% and 18%, and there's no shame in pointing kids toward more affordable — and still thoroughly viable — options requiring less strenuous high schooling."
The other I was sitting in my AP US class and there were these two girls talking about the project coming up due in a week. One girl had already finished it the night before, because--"I was so bored last night and I had nothing to do, so I just did it."
WHOOOO DIDDDD YOUUUUU KIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL?!??!?!?!?
Seriously, how?! How did this one random girl in my class defeat the odds?! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. She's always well-dressed and brushes her hair. But it kind of makes me internally scream because I'm literally drowning in all the crap I have to do and the only time I get to let all my stress out is when I rant on my blog, my intricate version of angry tweets saying things like "FML" and " I try so hard and no one even cares xxx". So I suppose I really am an attention whore, too, just more subtle. Which is just another thing to add on to my list of things that are stressful: my shitty, shitty, personality.
