This week I read an article in the September issue of Teen Vogue called Breaking Point. In the article they discussed an issue that many over-achieving teens face; stress. Teens not only feel pressure at school with their grades, homework and social status, they usually have to also worry about extracurricular activities like sports, musical instruments, work, etc. If you add friends and family issues it is obvious why so many young adults endure stress frequently.
The article goes on to talk about the difference in levels of stress that women and men have. Studies show that girls actually fell stressed more frequently than boys. There are unique aspects of being female that can make life particularly stressful. For example girls generally are under more pressure to be perceived as fashionable or attractive by others. They also get stressed by relationships within their groups of friends while guys usually don’t care.
This article made me wonder if this pressure to excel is helping teens or hurting them. In the long run, stress can lead to many health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disorder and depression. So are the long hours of homework combined with the extensive athletic practice worth it? I think many teens feel that the stress is just one thing they have to endure to help make a better future for themselves. The work we do in middle school and high school sets us up for college and life after that. The harder we work the better off we are.
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