There comes a point in the year where you ask yourself if anything that you’re doing is actually worth it. Is staying up every night at 3 a.m finishing homework really worth it? Are the dark circles under my eyes actually going to pay off later on? Is any of this going to matter in a couple of years?

School is expected to be student’s first priority. Our whole lives are expected to revolve around school. We’re expected to put homework before friends, before family, and before ourselves. I honestly cannot remember the last time I woke up from a 7 hour night sleep and feel fully energized to take on whatever task I have that day. I cannot remember the last time I was able to comfortably go out with my family without stressing about the homework I have to get done.

We go to school for 7 hours and are still expected to do a few hours worth more of homework. I for one have different priorities at home. When students are at school their first priority is school, and when they arrive at home, school is no longer their priority. For example, my first priority at home is my sister. Other students have a job in order to help around the house, and others have extracurricular activities in subjects they enjoy to do.

What teachers do not understand is that us as teenagers we have other things to focus on outside of school. This is the stage of our lives where we have the lowest self esteem so we need to devote time to ourselves. School is now seen as a place where we do work for the letter grade rather than doing the work to learn. Why is it that I feel drained out in school and not grateful for the opportunity of education?

One of my biggest fears is coming to find out that at after all my hard work and after my sleep deprivation, it will not pay off later on in life. I am afraid that my work was not enough, and that the reason my education came to a stop was because of the money. That after all my effort I wasn’t able to pursue a career. School should not be a place where we develop depression and anxiety. Everybody warned us about the peer pressure on drugs, but nobody warned us about our mental stability.