Every year, there has been a report of skyrocketing anxiety levels among high school students in the United States, especially at the time of the year when students are facing their new beginnings. It’s always this fresh start to the school year that puts heavy pressure on high school students. When adapting to new environments in times of uncertainty and insecurity about the future, students must recognize their sources of stress and anxiety and how to navigate them correctly. Once they learn how to embrace their fears and anxieties toward the future, a long journey of high school can be viewed with more hope and excitement.
One of the primary factors for anxiety, academic pressure, continues to throw students into panic every time they start the new school year. During their long educational journey, students’ anxieties regarding academics escalate exponentially as they enter high school. Freshman Tulia Balajadia shares her introspections on when she first came to Emerson this year.
“I learned that we have more freedom at a high school but also more academic pressure than at a middle school,” Balajadia said. “I’m afraid of what future route I’m going to take on at Emerson and how I will find the sense of belonging, but I’m going to try to find my inner peace and try to stay on task so that I can avoid the risk of getting a bad grade.”
The level of anxiety freshman year differs significantly from upperclassmen. A lot of current juniors heard from seniors how juggling their academic pursuits in junior year was chaotic and burdensome. Junior Gianna Stone talks about how her anxiety level entered a whole different stage as she entered her junior year:
“I feel a lot more anxious this year since it’s a lot different than any of my previous high school years,” Stone said. “All of the seniors are talking about how junior year can break us with…AP courses plus college preparations, but I’m trying to persevere through it and believe that it’s going to be a great year for me to challenge myself.”
The types of fears and anxieties all differ between freshmen and seniors when it comes to starting a new grade, but they share the challenges and anxieties of this big change.
“There’s just so much going on in this day and age, the pressures to fit in, the pressure to achieve, the pressure of social media,” NeaToday, quoting Kathy Reamy, said. “It’s so hard for the kids who are already maybe perfectionists, and they’re getting the first B in their lives and they’re fearful it’s going to prevent them going to college, any college, never mind their dream college. And they don’t want to disappoint their parents.”
This type of anxiety is natural, but learning to cope will help students view their high school lives more confidently and joyfully. Senior Jostin Salazar talks about how he changed over the years through all the struggles he overcame.
“When I was a freshman a few years ago, I had a lot of doubts about myself and had no idea about anything going on,” Salazar said. “It overall made me mentally weak and unconfident about myself. However, after a lot of struggles throughout my high school years, I have learned to believe more in myself no matter what.”
Although all the anxieties high school students experience can be overwhelming and make them feel insecure, learning to embrace those struggles can help one view life with more joy and create excitement for the future.
“After I accepted my anxieties to see my high school life with more meaning and happiness, I am honestly very excited to see the end of my senior year and what’s going to come after this,” Salazar said.
