Adam Bonar

Sitting at my desk doing yet more schoolwork, I feel my phone vibrate and notice a text message coming through. It’s my good friend, Dennis, who is currently in high school – a senior – and is vying for valedictorian, playing tennis, in many clubs, the NHS president and works, along with a measly eight AP classes to add on. Hearing from him was quite a surprise considering his workload; he tends to get around 4 hours of sleep nightly. After letting him go, I compared my small sample size of college to his, and my experience of high school. While college has certainly been difficult, I do enjoy it much more than high school. The independent college experience has revealed to me just how severely flawed the public education system, especially high school, really is. 

Waking up at 5:30 in the morning every day was a norm for me. Looking back on that I always see my highschool self as insane. Seven hours straight for five days a week sounds like a death march now, yet I accepted the reality of it for years. Now experiencing college for what it is, more and more it is shown to me that highschool is simply a breeding ground for constantly stressed zombies who only think about the work they must complete. Adding on to the stress, the level of competition that is encouraged is rather frightening. It is highly stressed that in order to be successful, as a highschool student a high grade point average is key, which is supported by filling your schedule with rigorous AP classes. While they do help prepare you for the workload of college, this path takes away the value of a nourishing childhood. A childhood that consists of actual fun and relaxation. Establishing a baseline of positive mental health must be reinforced. 

Dennis finds very little time for himself to simply relax, and I found myself in very similar situations when I was in high school. This emphasis on working constantly in the hardest classes to be successful, while not completely flawed, is problematic nonetheless. People, no matter how smart, burn out. Finding time to relax has to be normalized, as our generation is becoming more and more competitive, thus leading to an even crazier work ethic. While difficult, I still find at least some time for myself and wake up at reasonable hours. If we don’t find the time to focus on ourselves and enjoy life now, then we will never stop working, simply because we will forget how to.