pressure, stress School stresses stress students out maggie nolan>>managing editor Being involved in multiple extra-curricular activities is generally promoted to high school students. It’s a good idea to expand your horizons, meet new people, and find yourself as much as possible. Senior Jake Boeding was the perfect example of over-working yourself. Boeding was the producer of the Axe, drum major for marching band, first chair for symphonic band, in three Advanced Placement classes, Oak Street, A Capella, musical, TFAC, and crew for the winter play. “The difference between honors and AP classes are
the AP classes are specifically designed to prepare students for the AP exam,” said AP statistics teacher Phil Gegen. “In general, AP classes probably have a bit more homework because of the amount of material that needs to be covered.” “I just kind of learned how to deal with [everything going on],” Boeding said. Although having a daily significant workload, Boeding was doing everything he can to prepare himself for college. “The silver lining to the stress of taking multiple AP classes is preparation for taking college classes,” Gegen said. “Students who have dealt
Managing stress • Manage your time better • Do things that are productive but fun to do in your free time • Know your limits of what you can do so you don’t over extend yourself. • Take control of your life and make sure you always know all the things you are in charge of doing. • Focus on the positive, rather than the negative. • Have a more positive lifestyle by working on you and your health.
with that stress in high school are generally more prepared when they go off to college.” Boeding, along with being so involved, is a perfectionist with everything he does. “I wanna please everybody,” Boeding said. “I try to give 110 percent to everything. As cliché as it sounds, I try to do the best I can for each activity.” Being so involved and striving for perfection leaves little time to hang out with friends, or even get enough sleep. “On weeknights I almost never hang out with people; I mean at practices for my activities, I consider that as hanging out because my
friends are there, too,” Boeding said. “On both weeknights and weekends, there is rarely a night that I’m going to bed for 11 [p.m.], most likely midnight. My body just got used to it, so even when I have the opportunity to go to bed early, my body just stays awake until around that time.” Doing his best in everything he does, Boeding sometimes finds it hard to stay awake. “There are a couple of days I find myself dozing off in class, but it’s not hindering my ability to learn; it’s not hindering my output of work ethic,” Boeding said.
Stress Quiz • Do you often become agitated, frustrated or moody? • Has the feeling of being overwhelmed become a somewhat constant in your life? • Do you feel extremely bad about yourself, or have extremely low self-esteem? • Do you avoid stressful situations more then you confront them and deal with them? • Do you often have low energy, headaches, upset stomachs, chest pain, insomnia, and frequent “colds”? • Do you have frequent changes in appetite, or just general lack of appeal to eat?
Ways to learn how to deal with stress, can be found in the managing stress box on this page. If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could be under severe stress or pressure. *all information found on Webmd.com
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*all information found on Webmd.com
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