Stress, anxiety, panic attacks and even rebellion — these are just a few of the things high school students are suffering from on a daily basis because of the pressures of school.

I cannot even begin to count how many times I’ve heard from elders, “High school is so much harder now than it was when I went.”

That isn’t an exaggeration.

With the requirements to graduate and added pressure from teachers and/or parents, students are really feeling the weight of high school.

In Laura Katen’s article “Teenage Overload: Are Kids Being Pushed Too Hard?” Katen explains how some kids are dealing with the stress consuming their lives.

“Frequently, teenagers who cannot measure up, constantly work to keep up or feel pressure to step up, suffer from feelings of nervousness, inadequacy and an inability to live up to expectations,” Katen writes. “These negative feelings may lead to low self-esteem, rebellion, and a determination not to compete or achieve at all. The ensuing effort to find solace and comfort may lead to depression, a dependency on drugs or alcohol, or even an eating disorder.”

The pressure is becoming too much and instead of it pushing kids to do better, they are giving up or turning to things to ease the negative energy that they should never have to encounter, especially at such a young age.

It shows the dedication from students because they care so much that they are willing to go to any extent to succeed and be the best, but should it ever have gotten to this point?

Absolutely not.

I think a lot of people may wonder, “How did students ever get into this situation in the first place?”

I believe a statement from Michael Gonchar’s article “Are High School Students Being Worked Too Hard?” answers this questions perfectly in response to how pressure gets to students.

“Take one more Advanced Placement class. Add another extracurricular. Apply to all eight ivies,” Gonchar said.

This is exactly what high school students hear and that’s why coming to school for some is considered miserable.

As a high school senior, I understand that hearing this feels as if the hard work you’re putting in will never be enough because there is always “more” you can do.

What it all boils down to is that high school students need a break from all of the, what seems like, never-ending pressure.

If students don’t get a break, the stress will eventually break them down and put them in a place they don’t deserve to be in.

A lot of the time, the pressure is from the ones who want the best for their students or children, but they are only thinking about the future in that circumstance.

For instance, taking four AP classes in a year will look great on a transcript and college applications, but what if the stress builds so high that the student ends up not doing well in the classes and not passing the AP exams? Their GPA is now ruined and all of the stress was for nothing because the credit won’t even count for college.

Instead of risking this and making high school dreadful to attend, allow students to take one or two AP classes a year, along with some classes that are easier to handle and maintain and still let them know that you are proud of them.

That way, at the end of the year, their GPAs are even better and they have college credits under their belts because they were able to balance the stress and deal with the pressure two hard classes offered instead of four.

The students know themselves really well and they know what they can handle. Allowing them to make the decision on what classes they take in high school would mend a lot of the problems the students are facing.

A lot of the time, students will bear the pressure to make the ones supporting them happy, but you never know what that built-up pressure could lead to.

Make sure you let your students or children know that you are proud of them for working hard and it doesn’t take taking a full schedule of college classes in high school to do exactly that.

Students all around are being weighed down by the pressure high school brings and it shouldn’t be the case.

Afterall, they are constantly told to enjoy their four years of high school because they are the best years in life and can’t be brought back.

If that’s the case, the pressure has to stop and then maybe students will be able to enjoy school instead of dread it.