As we run through life, we’re advised to join as many activities as we can to really get a feel for what we might like. We’re also told to take the hardest classes we can handle, because it may earn us scholarships later on in life.

What they don’t tell us is that you’ll be going from school, to sports, to Science Olympiad and then finally to home at 10 p.m., just to realize that you have five hours of homework left to do.

So then they tell you that you have to prioritize and determine which assignment will affect which grade the worst. We’re told that only this teacher’s class matters and you have to have your homework done for this class, but you go to the next hour and you’re told the same thing by a different teacher.

They say you’re not going to score well on these annual standardized tests that mean nothing to you if you don’t do your work, but you’re not going to get any scholarships or have nothing to show for high school if you don’t do upwards of four activities per year.

We, the students, are left wondering what grade or activity we are willing to sacrifice, how late we are willing to stay up and which meal we are willing to skip to get everything done in the limited time we call a day.

If we are going to be pressured into doing activities, then the people pressuring have to be willing to compromise on what they are going to throw onto us, on top of everything else. There are only so many hours in the day, and we are all human.

We all need to sleep, eat, and socialize, but it’s almost as if no one understands that but us. We’re young. These are supposed to be the best days of our lives, but instead, we are bogged down with stress and work and can barely function through a week.

17mcrees@usd489.com