Everyday, phrases such as “I hate my life” can be heard bouncing around the hallways of OHS – and likely any other high school. Where is the perspective?

No doubt, many students are dealing with something difficult in their lives. Too often, though, exclamations of “hating life” are followed by something trivial.

“The teacher hates me so she gave me a F!” and “I can’t believe he hasn’t texted me back yet!” are just a few recent ones. Students need to take a step back and consider the situations in a different light.

For one, teachers are professionals who are almost certainly more educated than you in the topic they teach. If you received an “F,” chances are you earned an “F.” Teachers would lose their jobs if they graded with biases. If you truly feel a teacher has discriminated against you, report it.

Additionally, students often complain about the effort required for projects and then are frustrated when their grade reflects their apathy. Of course, everyone is stressed at times, but they still do the work and find it unfair when other students seem to think their work load is so much harder.

Jordan Biermann (11) agrees that it is unfair when she does the required work and other students do not.     

“I feel like it was a waste of my time,” Biermann said.

Also, in this day and age, people are all too reliant on their phones. If someone has not texted you back, it is not the end of the world. Immediate life should take the priority over answering a text, not to mention that some people do not enjoy communicating over a written message. Have some patience – or call them.

Now, this is not to say that a person cannot have a bad day, but the trivial things in life should not be the main cause of a bad day. Ten years from now, it truly will not matter that you failed one assignment or that someone you may not end up keeping in touch with took several hours to text you back.

Some of the frustrated OHS students need to just take a breathe. High school students all over world face the same dilemmas as you and survive. So smile – you only get one go around.