Let’s be honest. Most teenagers are not the absolute best at managing their time. That is something that is very ironic to think about because teens have so much going on. Throughout their teenage years, everyone has to do a list of things. 

Teens are told to look for a job, have friends, get involved with their school/ community, etc. But the very next thing they are told is ‘You have too much going on. You need to spend time with your family. Your grades are falling behind.’ It’s just extremely stressful when you are at the age where you are forced to start “growing up” and doing things such as trying to get a job and when in high school the most significant thing is trying to get into a good college. Then on top of that, we all have parents who add things to our plate. 

Stress is inevitable when going through life. The World Health Organization’s definition of mental health is: “a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. 

We understand and relate so we decided to interview the THS student wellness advocate Ms. Huete. We asked her a few questions regarding the pressure we as students feel to meet unattainable standards.

We asked Ms. Huete did she think that high school sets students up for success while also helping them manage every other aspect of their life she then expressed that she believes that high school is designed to set students up for success, although, at the same time, she said she knows that it can be very difficult managing school and other aspects of student life, she said it can be very difficult for a school to teach students to balance, with all the unique situations students are managing.

Ms. Huete’s views on the ways that students struggle while going through the growing-up process are as she stated that students are learning who they are, their values, and what purpose they have in life. It is a time to learn, make mistakes, and grow as individuals. High school students are learning to be independent, and how to overcome obstacles. 

Many of the struggles involve finding the right friends, balancing home life with growing independence from their parents, handling disappointment, and managing mental health challenges. Students are learning how to get the grades they want, multi-task in lots of classes, how to study, stay motivated, and pass through fears about the future.

We also asked Ms. Huete and she did believe that there is pressure put on teens to grow up and learn these real-life and adult things at an early or fast pace. She said I do think that there is pressure to grow up and learn real-life skills at an early and fast pace… the advancements of technology and the ability to look up so much information on the internet has contributed to this fast pace, she thinks is important for students to have trusted adults to go to in order to ease the pressure.

Although it is very important to prepare yourself for being an independent adult. The first priority first and foremost is to make sure that your mental and physical health take the front seat. Being able to balance everything that can overwhelm a young mind we believe should be given to these teens. Yes, there are some ways of coping with their time management that teens need to learn on their own, but if we as a society are going to try and push these young and developing minds out into the world without having all of the necessary resources, are we setting these teens up for failure? Are the resources that are available enough?