The Difficulty of Being a Hard Working Student and Relieving Stress by Tayler

The Difficulty of Being a Hard Working Student and Relieving Stress by Tayler - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

As a first year college student I discovered not only microbes under the microscope, new ways of studying, and how to work efficiently, but I learned a lot about myself. I have always been the typical straight "A" student: stressed, education obsessed, and having little-to-no mess when it came to my supplies and books. I have always had some sort of plan about my day, my future, and my life. All of those characteristics have traveled with me to my dorm room here at college, but I have realized the importance of stress relief. If a younger student asked me to tell them something I have learned in college, I would tell them that relieving stress is something I wish I had focused on years ago.
Being able to find some kind of release is important to function properly and stressing about uncontrollable factors is unreasonable. Younger students should not be worrying about taking as many Advanced Placement courses they can or going into high school worried about getting admitted to college. The extra stress from constantly worrying about the future does not allow them to finish living their childhood and takes away from the high school experience. My younger sister is in her second year of high school and has hours upon hours of homework every day because she put herself into so many advanced classes. She is not able to see her friends outside of school, go on vacations, or take a sick day. She is already thinking about colleges and applying to all the right institutions. Of course it is wonderful to work hard and get the best out of the public education system, but sometimes it is more than students need at the moment in their lives.
I also took multiple advanced courses, honors classes, and extracurricular activities. This eventually led me to a breaking point though, which I was unable to handle. To push and encourage yourself is a fantastic capability, but sometimes it causes more harm than good, especially with the current education system today. Students need to have some kind of release to enable them to still work to their best ability without hitting a breaking point. I have found that my release is exercise, which I take time for every day for two hours. It allows me to focus on nothing but bettering myself. Every student should take time out of their day to do something they enjoy or that solely focuses on bettering themselves.
With the stress of being "good enough" for college and advanced course work to prepare, younger students are unable to have a childhood and focus properly. I think it is important for any student to find a release that helps them spend time with their own thought and leave the stresses of school behind for little bit each day. Stress release has become an important part of my everyday life in college and has definitely helped my ability to focus and work hard in the courses I take.