The Pressure to be “Happy”
By Jennifer Schreiber
High schools today are forcing our students to be happy. Happy through grades, activities, speeches, and friendship. The reality of it is that nobody is truly happy. We all portray ourselves in such a way that our lives are perfect to others when they really are not. This causes a chain reaction running throughout the school of students trying to be perfect, when perfection does not exist.
We are growing humans who are learning through our mistakes and life experiences causing us not to be happy all the time. This sudden pressure in our society is causing mental illnesses, low self-esteem, and sometimes even death. We need to stop this trend of trying to be like everyone else and start being ourselves, but in a society that wants you to be everything but that it is causing a large amount of struggle throughout our younger generations.
I went around my school asking students specific questions to try to improve my understanding of exactly how many students this epidemic is affecting. It is prevalent in more students than I could imagine…
Do you feel as though you need to get perfect grades in this school and achieve things out of your reach?
Student A: “Yes, everybody is so smart and I find it hard to even come close to them. I get average grades and I feel that it will never be enough. My parents tell me I need to get a 36 on my ACT because our neighbor did. They say I don’t try hard enough.”
Do you think this pressure to do well in school is affecting your overall happiness as a growing teenager?
“Absolutely. I want to make memories and have fun with my friends, but in the back of my mind I am always worrying about my next test and my homework I still have to do. I understand school is important but this pressure is ridiculous, I will never be like my neighbor. I can’t do what I enjoy; I can’t even de-stress.”
The students are struggling to do simple necessary things teens should do. This needs to change, we need to learn how to be happy naturally.
I agree; stress in high school is a real issue that is often overlooked. What can be done to eliminate this stress? To prevent it?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that high schools are putting too much stress on kids. I liked the way you used examples of interviews you had with kids, however I think you should work on getting more examples because having only two examples of kids who are pretty much talking about the same thing isn't very effective. Maybe you should try getting more examples and possibly of kids with different things to say? I did like how you structured the blog post and how you made it a subject that students can relate to.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jennifer on the idea that academic responsibilities are taking away from children's happiness, but I believe it is necessary because it teaches the youth the hardships of life as an adult. Is it more important to persevere a child's happiness or to prepare them for the difficulties ahead of them in life>
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea completely. But I'm wondering if lowering the educational standards at Hinsdale Central would eliminate the stress. I feel this way because, I think the stress and the drive to succeed in school and other activities would still be there even if standards were lowered. What do you think?
ReplyDelete