Within the middle school, students have been starting to plan far ahead into the future. With the constant question asked by relatives, teachers and friends, “who do you want to be when you grow up,” many begin to over think this question. Some people don’t worry about their future, yet for those who do, it has been becoming more and more stressful.
Not everyone feels the need to prepare far ahead into the future. “Focusing too far ahead into the future will prevent me from living in the moment,” said eighth grader Katie Brosnan. “Planning so far ahead is pointless, since many things will change over time. At the moment I want to focus on studying and doing the work I need to.”
However, Brosnan’s opinion is not shared by many, as most people think about the future and what they need to do in order to succeed later on. However, students can’t be prosperous later on if they don’t succeed at what they are doing right now.
Nevertheless, eighth grader Isabelle Laxer stated that not only do her parents put pressure on her to plan for the future, but she also puts pressure on herself. “I kind of encourage myself to do certain activities and keep my activities more well rounded… that will help my résumé when I am trying out for colleges.”
Laxer also added that the pressure is coming from a multitude of places, like friends, teachers and students themselves. Furthermore, Laxer explained that students should only take classes or participate in extracurricular activities that they enjoy.
In the grades below, the pressure around the future isn’t as intense as it is in the eighth grade. Seventh graders Vika Pertsovksy, Elsie Adroulakakis, and Paiton VanDyke believe in succeeding in school, but not really in planning for the future. They think that doing well in school will automatically enable them to do well in colleges and their future jobs. This highlights the importance of focusing on the task at hand, which will help students attain their goals later on.
Despite all the different opinions, pressure in the middle school is a big issue. According to health teacher Ms. Bambi Thompson, a big contributing factor to this stress is competition. “You hear students talking about grades quite a lot, and that pressure of the grades, sometimes it supersedes the actual learning…and there is a pressure for the students to not only be their best, but their best at everything.”
Initially students want to fulfil their own potential, but sometimes this turns into a desire to be the best in their class or amongst their friends.
At the moment, most students in the middle school have admitted to being under a considerable amount of stress. In order to lessen the stress, students need to self advocate when enough is enough and understand how much work is too much work. Work and pressure should not stop students from enjoying free time with friends and family.
