Advice I Wish I Would've Been Given by Taylor

Advice I Wish I Would've Been Given by Taylor - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

I remember being a freshman and thinking “Oh boy, high school! I can’t wait to attend dances, get a boyfriend, and make heaps of friends!” For a 14 year old girl, that was the goal; I never even considered the difficult work and dedication the actual schoolwork would require of me. Three years down the road, I have managed to get over the childlike desire for popularity and have learned quite a few tips and tricks to keep me from drowning in the ocean that is my education. Some are simple things, such as always double checking that your alarm is set for the next day, and being sure that you haven’t left your homework on your desk BEFORE you leave the house; some, however, are things I lead my life by even outside of school. They can all be summed up in one piece of advice: Do not let stress take over your life.
Stress is one of those gently thought of hindrances that is experienced by everyone at some point or another throughout life. For me, it was never anything further than a worry-filled thought about whether or not I used the perfect font on my poster for Health class. That was, until my Junior year. Stress became the epitome of my being, never being able to relax even for a second if I knew that there was homework I needed to finish or a test that I needed to study for, even if there was no way I could be doing those things. I once missed the entire plot of a movie I had agreed to watch with friends on a Saturday because I was mulling over the entirety of the Civil War in my head, trying to prepare for a test the following Monday. It reached the point where not only was I experiencing a severe amount of mental pain, but physical pain as well; my hair was falling out, my stomach ached with every thought of school, and my eyes were often dry and sensitive due to constant freak-out crying. My friends would ask me if I was ok, saying that I seemed depressed or sick, and I would always just smile back at them and say “I’m just tired.” By that point, stress had completely taken over; I wasn’t even myself anymore.
I don’t want that to happen to anyone else. I was strong, and I had a loving group of people to help me through it, but some people aren’t as lucky. My advice to younger students is to prioritize your wellbeing ahead of your grades, always. Always seize the time to hang out with friends and dedicate yourself to them for the entire time. Always go to school when you can, because not being there will just intensify the stress. Always do your homework right away, enabling you to have free time to relax knowing that you did all that you could. Most importantly, always communicate your feelings to others who want to help, since talking to someone about it truly does take a load off and they help you to realize how much you’re blowing everything out of proportion. It’s ok if you don’t get perfect scores on everything; when you’re 30 years old with a family to take care of, none of that matters anyway. Stress consumed my life without me ever knowing, but you can stop it before it gets to that point.