Olivia’s Outlook: stress

Each school year begins with mixed emotions from all types of students: feelings of stress, anxiety, excitement, indifference and more. Students have different, constantly changing feelings towards school, teachers and peers. Personally, I tend to get stressed by school easily, but over the years, I have discovered numerous ways to lessen the effects of stress for myself. 

To make school less dreadful, I have found it is helpful to get involved in extracurricular activities and spend time with people you enjoy. We have a large variety of clubs, sports and activities to become part of or get involved in. I have gotten involved in numerous activities such as foreign language club, newspaper, DECA, Live Life Eyes Up, Unified Bowling and more. I love surrounding myself with new people and making many new and different friends. Getting involved at school has made me excited to be there each day. 

In addition to getting involved in numerous extracurricular activities, I find serenity in a multitude of hobbies. With time I do not spend on school related obligations, I pick up different hobbies and spend time with friends and family. Hobbies I would suggest to fellow students are crochet, yoga, watching documentaries and thrifting. Anything can be a hobby; if you find something that interests you, learn more about it! From my experience, hobbies make time go by quicker and they make you feel more productive. Time spent on your phone or a screen can be replaced by time spent on a new hobby. 

Dealing with stress during the school year is essential; becoming too overwhelmed can destroy your academic career. Time is everything and it is important to pace yourself and distribute your time in a healthy way. Work on homework in study hall or in the remaining minutes of your classes to give yourself some time for a break after school. Once you arrive home, try to get to work as soon as possible- starting earlier is better because it will help you get to bed earlier and sleep longer. For an after–school break, I would suggest going to the gym or partaking in some sort of physical activity to get your adrenaline pumping. You will feel refreshed and more energized afterwards, making it easier to spend time completing your homework.
 

Overall, my outlook for the 2019-2020 school year is positive. I am excited to get more involved at Central, to meet new people and to learn to manage my time better. I would like to improve myself as a writer and student and I believe that junior year is a great time to work on myself. Joining more clubs and volunteering more often will help me to meet new people and make more friends. I am happy to be starting another year here and I cannot wait to see what is to come for the rest of the year.