Throughout school I’ve always been a perfectionist and often times far too hard on myself. There have been times where I’ve lain in my bed worrying about a test or project that I have the next day and if I truly know all of the material.

I figured this year would be no different. It was junior year, the year every upperclassmen complained about and talked about like it was the hardest and most stressful year of their lives. I started in the summer worrying about how hard my classes were going to be and how I was going to balance all honors and AP classes, work, singing, chorus and extracurriculars and manage to still have a social life.

However, a week before school started, I came to a turning point. Driving home after a church service where the entire focus was on prayer for the upcoming school year, the question hit me: In five years, will it matter?

When I really started thinking about this, all of the various situations that were causing anxiety, the answer to the question was no, it was not going to matter. In that moment I made the decision to carry that question with me throughout the upcoming year and see how things changed.

After now being back in school for a little over a month and being knee deep in junior year, that one simple question has changed the path that I’ve taken this year.

Although that B may feel like the end of the world now, there are so many more things that will come my way, and this, while I wish it was, is not the hardest mountain I will have to climb.

I will survive, just like you will live through taking that test that you really don’t understand the material to no matter how hard you try.

The positive mindset of conquering the obstacle at hand, whether it be pre-calculus, AP Literature or joining a new club, has a tremendous effect on the outcome of the task at hand. I’m much more relaxed, taking everything one step at a time and striving to give my best in everything I do.

Now, this doesn’t mean to just give up trying and say forget it because it doesn’t actually matter. Try your best. Work as hard as you can and do everything in your power to understand the material, but sometimes the best thing you can do is put the book down and let God handle it.

As soon as you decide that life will handle itself and that your best is all that’s being asked of you, school becomes much more enjoyable. Life is not handed to us; we all have to work for what we want.

However, sometimes what our brain really wants is a break from the overwhelming stress and panic, to regroup and continue on. There have been many times where the best decision I made was putting the textbook away, lying down, talking to some friends and going to sleep.

Grades are important, but so is your health. In five years, maybe even in five months, that test will not be what you’re thinking about. Keep pushing forward and remaining steadfast in the confidence you have in your abilities and take care of yourself above all else. Life will handle itself.