I’m in my senior year, and it’s supposed to be the best year, but so far it has been the most stressful year of my life. I’m aware that every student is stressed, but I’ve been feeling it extra hard lately.
I have SO much work, and my gpa isn’t nearly what I want it to be for colleges, and next week I’m going on a school trip for 4 days and my teachers are just piling up the work I have to do so I really won’t even get to enjoy the trip.
Today, my school was having this pep rally thing, and you weren’t supposed to bring your backpack down to it but I forgot, so they yelled at me and told me I wasn’t allowed in, so I walked away and went back to the building to put my bag down, but someone (one of my teachers ) yelled at me and told me I couldn’t be there, and then that happened about 2 more times with different people until some other teacher let me sit in her room, and I just broke down for whatever reason. And I couldn’t stop crying. I think everything I’ve been keeping down just came up and wouldn’t stop coming. But that’s what made me realize that I’m just stressed about absolutely everything.
All I wanna do is sleep, but I have too much to get done.
I don’t know how to handle it or make myself feel better. I’ve been keeping a planner and tracking my time management, but it’s just the amount of things I have to deal with. If anyone has any advice on how to deal with it, I’d really appreciate it.
You should talk to your guidance counselor and ask for help. You need to see someone ASAP. You shouldn’t have to carry this load by yourself. Hugs!! Keep us posted.
I totally agree…talk to your GC and your parents. Maybe there are ways your parents can help…for example if you are having trouble keeping track of the dates for college apps they could help you.
Maybe there are some ECs you could drop/do less work on until college app season is over.
Maybe you are taking 6 APs but really 4 would be better.
But talk to your GC and/parents to see if there is anything you can jettison to reduce the stress.
OP, I’m so sorry that you’re going through so much stress, and I feel very sympathetic to your situation. Having a very rough day certainly did not help and wished that your teachers weren’t as callous. It’s that time of your life where your peers are also going through so much stress. I know. Even as a parent, the college application time was the most stressful not just for my son but for me, as well.
Here’s my advise to you, FWIW:
What do you need to do when the boat is sinking? As bopper said above, you jettison everything that’s not critically necessary. From your description, it appears to me that you’re not overwhelmed with just your course work but in addition to all those other activities of yours. Take a hard look at your activities and if any of those are just garden variety stuff, they really won’t help you with your college application. Jettison those activities by prioritizing them. To give you some idea from our own experience of what we’ve had to jettison over the years:
Although my son was gifted in chess enough to win the state scholastic championship without ever taking a single chess lesson, he dropped it so he can reserve more time to his violin. That was a really difficult decision, trust me. Oh, he dropped piano after 11 years of training, and that, too, was an extremely difficult decision, especially placing in state competitions. He dropped swimming even though he was fast climbing the ranking ladder. He dropped competitive Taekwondo; he dropped several volunteer works and just limited to one; he even dropped his idea, at my urging, of going for the valedictorian honor. He did stay competitive GPA wise, though, since that’s one of the most critical factors in college admissions.
We have lots of experience jettisoning very “expensive items” as you can see. Still, he suffered a lot of stress but because he also substituted those things that he dropped with proms (attended 3), homecomings, school plays, parties, etc. I don’t know what your activities are, but you need to realize that there’s only so much time in a day and that your plate’s overflowing. Start taking a control over your life by jettisoning everything you don’t consider vital. Activities are time consuming, and you need to free up the time to get a plenty of sleep and to be able to devote to your important school assignments.
@monte224 Hang in there! It is so stressful for you seniors in the fall. You are not alone. As others have said pare down your commitments and activities and refocus on you. Get help from your counselor on maybe taming next semester classes so you have light at the end of the tunnel. Get help from your teachers and see if you can make up the work within a reasonable time frame from when you get back from the school trip. If it is school approved they likely will help. Get your parents to help with the college stuff not writing just dates, details and editing. Think about five years from now. If the thing is going to matter stay with it but if not let it go. Attend the important events and enjoy the moments. Sleep in on the weekends. Do less social media. Good luck
There is a lot of excellent advice here in the above threads, so I won’t repeat it (but please follow it). I do encourage you to go on that trip. My DD is a freshman struggling with suddenly having 3-4 hours of homework a night. She had the last minute chance to go on a two-night trip over Columbus Day (not with close friends but with peers her age), and the change of scenery did wonders in terms of recharging her batteries.
) yelled at me and told me I couldn’t be there, and then that happened about 2 more times with different people until some other teacher let me sit in her room, and I just broke down for whatever reason. And I couldn’t stop crying. I think everything I’ve been keeping down just came up and wouldn’t stop coming. But that’s what made me realize that I’m just stressed about absolutely everything.