It’s officially that time of the year.

The time where staying up until 4 in the morning becomes a routine, a “meal” consists of little more than a pre-packaged pop-tart, and the thought of my to-do list induces hives.

Finals are coming soon, and teachers are trying to cram in the last unimportant details that we “must” learn before the school year ends. What’s the point? And the so-called work we need to do turns out to just be busy work. We don’t even get points for the homework we do. Staying up late and trying to keep your eyes open just to finish that last section of notes that’s due tomorrow that isn’t even checked.

The hours of exhaustion go unnoticed, and it turns into a cycle that makes coming to school miserable. Trying not to cry as the hours tick by doing homework becomes part of the norm. And all you can think about while sitting there is “I hate high school.” What happened to doing stuff outside of school? We are supposed to do things that we enjoy, that help our stress, but there is no time for that. We continue to wake up every day while dreading the alarm going off, and drag ourselves out of bed just to go back to the place that starts it all.

And although we all know that we are stressed and that everybody else around us is stressed, we never really seem to ask ourselves why. What exactly is the source of our dark circles and mental breakdowns? So we decided to ask you guys about it and provide an outlet to rant, complain, and spill about all the overwhelming stress this school gives us. Below are the answers we received. Some of them are little complaints, some of them are full on rants, and hopefully, some of them will help you to relieve your stress and let you know that you’re not alone.

“Tests.”
Freshman

“School work and life”
Sophomore

“The amount of homework and studying teachers assign per night and the expectation that 10th graders should know what they are going to do for the rest of their lives.”
Sophomore

“The things that cause me the most stress is a big unit test and the importance of getting good grades.”
Freshman

“When teachers assign multiple HW assignments before a test because I feel like we don’t have enough time to actually study the content that has been presented to us.”
Sophomore

“The classes that have no practical application for my present situation or for my future situation. These classes for me are English, World Cultures, and Spanish. They cause my stress because I have a hard time finishing my work because of how bored I get doing the work. On some days, the only work that gets done is for Calculus, Computer Science Principles, and Chemistry.”
Sophomore

“When my parents tell me to wash the dishes while they are out and I hear the garage door open and I haven’t done it yet.”
Sam Persinger, Freshman

“It stresses me out when teachers won’t teach me what I miss in that class. My teacher said they would help me but then proceeded to tell me that they would only answer questions and not teach me what I missed. That confused me. Last time I checked, the TEACHer was supposed to TEACH the student. Yeah, I cried 3 times that day because I had a ton of makeup work and I had no idea how to teach myself the content. It also stresses me out when I have an overwhelming amount of homework. I think the school needs to take a chill pill. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.”
Sophomore

“The amount of work I have to do along with athletics six days a week and working as well.”
Sophomore

“Math and tests when the teacher hasn’t taught the material and maintaining grades.
Sophomore

“I just feel like being in a wheelchair, while having to combat the difficulties and stresses of being a teenager is very hard for me. I am in honors courses, and I do relatively well in them, but I always have to work harder with my mind because my body has a lot of limitations, like the fact that I cannot write over two sentences with a pencil and paper. I have a very good life, but sometimes kids can also be cruel, giving you funny looks or gestures just because you are in a wheelchair. I really like my life and love my family, but life at school can be pretty tough.”
Sophomore

“Homework, test, but mostly group school projects with other peers.”

Freshman

“How some teachers don’t update Blackboard if I miss which causes more stress than I already have.”

Theo DiBasi, Sophomore

“Basically my own actions. I find myself never being able to will myself into doing my homework at home and I finish it during school. And this should cause me to flunk but I keep pulling it off and it becomes a cycle of self-destruction.”
Freshman

“Lots of homework, lots of projects, a few uncooperative teachers, and absolutely no time. Oh, and finals are going to kill my grades.”
John Dowd, Freshman

“Whenever I feel like I cannot focus or I’m having trouble with understanding the material in a class, it stresses me out a lot.”
Sophomore

“HONORS PRE CALC HONORS PRE CALC, when I have multiple tests on one day, different tests several days in a row, a lot of homework in one night, trying to keep a very high GPA, trying to get the best grades possible, balancing work, school, and other things.”
Sophomore

“Homework”
Freshman

“Teachers that put no consideration into students’ schedules (Ex: Orchestra/Band Concert that night until 9:30) and then wonder why kids seem like they’re “lazy” or “irresponsible” because they’re so tired that they can’t even remember simple assignments much less do meaningful learning. So… what ends up happening is that students say up later to catch up on work and they are miserable for the rest of the week, meaning that the only thing that you are thinking about is sleeping when you get home and then you can’t do any work in class so you have to do it at home which causes you to stay up later and the cycle repeats itself. Obviously, teachers don’t know every student personally and what their schedule is, but for DISTRICT WIDE events such as an orchestra or band concerts, assigning extra work is failing to realize that kids don’t just go home and do the homework for a SINGLE TEACHER’S CLASS. Most of us are taking difficult courses (sophomores) and do A TON of extracurriculars just to even have A CHANCE of getting into a decent college. However, the underlying problem here is clearly the school start time. Early start times are taking a toll on students’ mental health and causing depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. The school board not changing the start times is a clear message that students aren’t treated like human beings. Furthermore, years of scientific evidence and research were thrown out the window at even the slightest promise of the district saving money or “postponing” a decision. Honestly, I doubt anyone will even read this far or if someone does, it won’t mean anything. Anyway, I just needed to vent.”
Freshman

“My little brother, biology, and how my math teacher only talks about the Keystones. I’m pretty sure it is the only word they know.”
Freshman

“Homework.”
Different Freshman

“Everything. We are told to manage stress but are never given the time to. Teachers seem to forget that we have other classes, which can be frustrating. I’ve had multiple mental breakdowns, and have worked for hours into the night putting myself in physical and mental harm for a product I know won’t be worth it in the end.”
Freshman

“The most stressful part of the end of the year is the increasing speed of the classes. It’s like the teachers just realize they don’t have that much time to finish their courses, so they rush lessons, making them more confusing, and increase the workload. The poor planning just ends up hurting the kids in the end and making the end of the year even more hectic.”
Kristen Kinzler, Sophomore

“Homework and finals.”
Emily Chambers, Freshman

“Whenever I miss school, I’m incredibly behind on work in every single class. I often have to choose between things I truly love and feel passionate about and school work. I’m also exhausted every single day because the system is set up so that I have to get up at like 5:30.”
Freshman

“Last night, I found out that a 100 point project that I haven’t started is due next Tuesday. I also had a biology test that I think I failed first period. Tomorrow I have a test in my history class. I feel so much pressure to get this all done, especially since my teacher assigned me a project different from everyone else so I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Freshman

“When I have multiple major tests (math/chem/HuG) in the same day and during 2-4 periods in a row and also when my grade is on the verge between 2 letter grades.”
Sophomore

“This entire school, all my classes, the hallways, the people at this school, homework, essays, tests, did I say people already?”
Alyssa Maenza, Sophomore

“Having the calc final a week, and the AP test an entire month before school ends.”
Sophomore

“I take honors classes and the expectations they have are crazy! I have at least an hour of homework per subject every night. Sometimes I have to stay up until 3-4 a.m. to study for tests! I think teachers should be more reasonable with the homework load and realize that we have after-school activities and commitments. When we finally do have a break from actually going to school, it follows us home! I have so much homework over the weekend when I should be spending time with my family and being a kid.”
Freshman

“I do a bunch of extracurriculars and work for those on top of homework and sports sometimes leads to sleepless nights. But it’s okay because I guess being involved in a lot of activities is on me lol :,)”
Ana Key, Sophomore

“Teachers’ due dates and how they think they are the only class we have, and we can’t say out loud that we are busy with other school work because then we would be labeled by them as ineffective and not using our time wisely- they just will compare you with the majority of class and say to your face that you’re the problem and try not to help you. And pile ridiculous amounts or annoying time-consuming assignments such as world languages where you spent 2 hours on getting the sentence right because it’s case sensitive. Or how they are stingy and won’t delay a test at least for a day and think that not doing the test that day, can mess everything up, when you can switch your lesson plans for the next day and still be productive/ give a chance for your students to be more successful on the tests. When there are unexpected note checks or quizzes for which I am not prepared.”
Sophomore

“What causes me stress? The list goes on and on, but who gets the trophy of causing me the most stress? Definitely projects! Whether or not there for school or something else, they hands down, cause me the most stress!! The majority of the time, they cause me to break down and cry because I’m so clueless as to what to do with all of the rising stress. It might be my fault cause I always look at my daily homework rather than my homework due two weeks later, so I procrastinate till last minute but that’s why I hate projects. Especially group projects, cause most of the group projects I do, I end up being the one with the rest of the workload when someone doesn’t play their part. That’s why I’d rather work alone as well. Though that just makes teachers believe that I don’t have any friends (which I do) and they force me to work with people who I don’t know at all and it’s so overwhelming and awkward to work with them. That’s why projects generally are my least favorite thing to do.”
Freshman

“Oooo okay get ready for a small vent here. I am only venting on here because it said I could and venting calms me down so here it goes. A lot of things in my daily life gives me stress, but most of it is school work and tests. Sometimes we get little homework, but most of the time it’s an assignment in every subject. I am nervous about two big tests tomorrow that I am most likely not going to do well since they aren’t my strongest classes, and I honestly just want to relax and draw….but I Can’t. Also, I am getting anxiety from like my friend groups because sometimes I feel like I don’t belong or I’m just another person added to the group that’s just in the background. I want to hang out with them, but I am either busy or sometimes not invited. Recently I also feel like I have been annoying or mean and aaaggghhhh it’s a lot. Stress is…stressful but luckily one of the ways for me to get through it is by drawing… the only problem is that with all our homework and tests, I can’t exactly do that. So in conclusion, I am most of the time anxious or stressed.”
Freshman

“Sometimes the pressure to have a high GPA and all a’s and honors classes can become stressful and discouraging, Especially when you’re trying your best to be good enough for this school, which is filled with stereotypes and insecurity. I feel like everyone in this school just needs to start accepting each other, because we really don’t do that well sometimes.”
Freshman

“Some days I seem to have no homework and no tests and then the next day I have homework in 5 classes and 2-3 tests the next day, it is almost never even.”
Freshman