With the end of the school year in sight, it is hard to ignore the freedom of impending summer. Nice weather, time off from school, and a few dollars in your pocket are surely enough to coax you out of bed and into the arms of a much-deserved, stress-free break. Unfortunately, that may not be the case.
If you ask your peers, many see summer as a beacon of hope capping off the school year. Scientifically speaking, the summer sun increases the production of serotonin, the “happy chemical,” in your body, causing the sensation of contentment. But societal standards for self-improvement and perfection cause more stress than relief in the supposedly free summer months.
According to the Pew Research Center, the teen workforce returned from the pandemic with full strength, with about 6 million 16-19-year-olds in the U.S. working a summer job during 2021. Moving through the ranks of high school only builds pressure to continue your academic rigor consistently outside of school, ranging from joining clubs to finding different internships during your free time.
Even after the stress of selecting and applying to colleges, seniors don’t necessarily get a break with classes starting as early as August. Being an athlete doesn’t help for high school or college students; tryouts and preseason for high school fall sports start about two weeks before the declared start date of school and collegiate fall sports often enter two-a-days right after graduation.
The “perfect” student stereotype is one that is near impossible to reach and is pushed upon students of all ages. To reach that expectation of perfection means no breaks, no free time, and no time to reconsider what you want to be doing. Spreading yourself too thin means that you will inevitably fail, no questions asked. But if you relax during your free time, you aren’t doing enough? Too much is being asked of students during the little time we have to ourselves.
Although filled with the promise of sweet release from all of the stressors that is the high school experience, summer isn’t the magic cure for the ever-growing pressure that comes with education. The redundancy of expectations for “success” throws the idea of individuality straight out of the window. If you ever feel yourself stressing out about how you compare to others or how little time you have left to “catch up”, remember: everyone achieves at their own pace. If you are given time to rest, use it how you choose, not based on what others expect of you.
