Let’s face it – most of us are completely overworked and exhausted. Time is precious and there is so little of it. We have to balance everything in life: work, friends and family. But for some reason many people are under the impression that teens have plenty of time on their hands.
That is not the case. I consider myself lucky that I have at least one day a week off from work and school so that I can do homework, but there are friends of mine who sometimes work all week. Some of them even work two jobs on the side. With the expenses that many of us will need to pay after school we need the jobs throughout high school and quitting is out of the question. I am all for work experience during high school but we have the rest of our lives to be overworked and tired.
Many of us greatly value extracurricular activities as well, which can take up two to three days after school. Though there is not a whole lot to do in Creston besides sports, many do find something. Since sports are also a big part of many people’s lives, there is immense pressure, once again, to compete.
For teens, a social life can be everything. Our friends mean so much to us. But we rarely have the time for ourselves, much less time for others. Spending time with friends can overlook other things, such as school and family. It is, however, extremely important for teens to connect to others and build strong relationships; being with our friends means quite a bit.
And last, but definitively not least, we have school. School can be the main focus for many youth and is a huge stress factor that can help lead to exhaustion. The pressure from school to not only do well, but also act like you enjoy it, is outrageous. Homework seems to be valued more than things that actually matter, like friends and family.
Every day is filled with more things to do, in smaller amounts of time and with less help. And yes, this is how life is but we need to know how to balance everything.
This goes for everyone. There is so much we have to do and, like I previously mentioned, just not enough time. Yet it is crucial that we take time for ourselves. We need to have time to read for pleasure, not school, to play sports for fun, not competition.
Life is so busy, and sometimes it can just feel like drowning. I do not have a solution, because people keep saying that if I have too much to do then I should quit something. But that is easier said than done. We cannot always quit if there is too much, even though sometimes we really need to. Life needs balance and if we can just find some time for ourselves anywhere in the day to just do nothing, the workload will seem much less.
At the end of the day we are all human and will all be stressed at some point in our lives. The most important thing about that stress is how we manage it. So, just take some time before you go to bed or when you wake up to read, or write something. Watch a movie or go on Facebook. Do something that seems like nothing, but is a much needed break for your brain. Time is precious and we need to enjoy the time we have.
