School. Seven hours a day, five days a week.
Many students consider those hours to be extensive and torturous, while other students consider school a time to socialize with friends and maybe learn a little, too.
I know we're not out in the "real world" yet, but I honestly believe high school students don't receive enough credit from parents, teachers and adults in general.
School was never actually challenging until I entered the eleventh grade and decided to tackle a couple of AP classes, a fact that the majority of my friends would agree with. We're now learning more than we've ever learned in our lives - and that's great. But the workload often outweighs the time we have to complete it.
As high school students, we have innumerable various pressures applied to us, and it's often difficult to handle. For instance, we're expected to make good grades and get into college (which involves applying for college acceptance and scholarships). But we're expected to also play sports, be actively involved in clubs and to participate in volunteer work (if one hopes to win said scholarships). Not to mention the various obligations outside of school like church-affiliated programs and part-time jobs. And we have to contend with regular teenage drama like falling in love or having our hearts broken for the first time, friendships ending, and coping with peer pressure.
With crowded schedules like these, it's extremely testing to do well in school. Yet, we manage by making sacrifices. One of these sacrifices definitely is sleep. Many high school students stay up late into the night, and often the next morning, to complete the abundant homework. We now regret taking kindergarten's "nap time" for granted and yearn for our childhood's 9 p.m. bedtime.
Most regrettably, the weekend has become a time to catch up on sleep, complete any unfinished homework from the previous week, or to get ahead on the next week's homework. It's harder to hang out with friends, and if we do manage to find time to spend with them, we usually end up putting off our homework until Sunday, and therefore must stay up ridiculous hours into the night to complete the homework.
Is it really healthy to live like this?
Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm exaggerating the situation because I'm a student. But I'm not exaggerating. I actually enjoy learning and even want to become a teacher.
Or you may be thinking that I'm young, and teenage students should be able to handle all the pressures we face. However, most of us are inexperienced drivers, and there are dangers associated with driving to school after staying up all night studying.
Many adults don't realize how students struggle to achieve everything we do. A "nice job" or "keep up the good work" every now and then would be appreciated. It's nice to see the "super" or "fantastic" on returned tests that we did well on, because chances are we stayed up until 2 a.m. studying for that test.
I think the scariest part of all this is that we're going to look back and remember being deprived of sleep and stressed out. We don't have time to make the crazy memories that we hear our parents and elders talk about, and that's sad.
As I prepared to write this article, I questioned many of my classmates. I asked a male student if all the work is worth it, being as busy as we are and participating in everything we do, including AP classes. At first he shook his head no, but then he responded, "Well, I guess we'll see." What he meant was, if we pass the AP exams and if that helps us get further into our college careers, then yes, it's worth it.
The secret to high school success lies in time management and knowing our boundaries. We shouldn't take on more than we can handle, and most of us are learning that the hard way. Yet, we're learning it, and that's all that matters.
I want all high school students to not give up, but to continue to reach for their dreams. Les Brown once said, "Shoot for the moon. Even if miss you'll land among the stars." If you set your goals high, the end result will always be satisfactory, if not pleasing.
As for parents and adults, please realize that we're doing the best we can. Encourage us instead of punishing us.
Know that we're striving to do well not only to satisfy ourselves, but also to please the adults who influence us. Know that when your workday ends, ours continues. Know that we're striving to make something of ourselves and take our lives into untraveled territory. Know that YOU are our role models, NOT the celebrities on MTV. You have the power to influence us in the right directions.
Give us a little credit for all we do. I'm not asking for you to bow down to us, just encourage us and let us know that you're here throughout it all - whether we pass or fail.
Cheyenne Owens is a junior at West Davidson High School.