You’re not alone. This is a common problem most students deal with at some point in their school career. School is demanding and can end up controlling a huge part of your life but it’s necessary to remember school isn’t everything, even though it may feel that way.

In high school all we hear is college, career, life path, but high school is supposed to be a time of learning and discovery. Making mistakes and failure is the most important part of learning. Stress can be a good thing, it can motivate you to get work done and put your all into it, but too much stress on yourself is detrimental. Studies show that when students put less pressure on themselves academically they actually perform better. It might seem impossible to take some pressure off of yourself right now but you have to remember if you fail a test or get a bad grade on a project that it’s all part of the learning process. Mistakes and failure is what high school is for. It’s supposed to prepare you for life, so if you get a grade you don’t like, instead of going hard on yourself, try and brush it off.

Failure is inevitable, but finding ways to help soothe your anxiety and ease the blow of a bad grade is an important skill to have in life. You must remember that grades aren’t everything and a number doesn’t define who you are. To take some of the stress off of school you should have some hobbies outside of school that bring you joy. That way if something bad happens at school you have something to turn to to make yourself feel better. 

Earl Grey