BY SARAH MORELL
From a young age we’ve all been brainwashed into believing that high school would be the best four years of our lives. The amount of movies, television shows, and books that glamourize the high school experience has left us all with unfulfilled expectations that may have been far-fetched to begin with. Admit it, as a freshmen you believed that your high school career would be packed with wild parties, late night adventures and a close knit group of friends. However, odds are that you spent most nights at home finishing a chapter of your APUSH book or editing a college essay. Regardless, the fact that your hopes for high school haven’t been satisfied can be tied back to these four unexpected annoyances.
Peer Pressure
When asked “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” you know well enough to laugh and say “of course not.” However, the sad fact is that no matter how resilient we claim to be to societal expectations, they still rule many aspects of our lives. Although the idea that people care about what we wear and how we act may be fabricated in our own minds, the effect is real. We’re all just struggling to fit in.
Stress
When I look back at my time in high school, I will first and foremost think of the pressure and anxiety I was subjected to. Attending seven classes during the day and going home only to do homework for each class is too much, not to mention jobs and extracurricular activities. The fact of the matter is we go to school to learn, yet our grades are what count, not whether or not we’ve gained any knowledge. That being said, cramming for a test the night before is something we’ve all done but there’s a high chance we’ll never be able to recall what we had attempted to remember. The level of stress we’re exposed to doesn’t pay off in the long run, instead it taints our high school experience.
The chronic lack of money
This one is pretty straightforward. When the ultimate question is whether you should buy a burrito at Chipotle or put $7 worth of gas in your tank, you know there’s a problem.
Unnecessary Rules
As a senior, I’ve come to notice that the strict constraints put upon us on a daily basis are a bit excessive. It’s almost comical that in just half a year the class of 2015 will be living by themselves yet we still need to raise our hands to ask to use the restroom. This may not seem like a potential pitfall of high school, but next time you’re sitting in class and are asked to put on a sweater or turn off your cellphone, just know that we, as an entire student body, feel for you.
