High school students today have stress levels shooting through the roofs.

Counselors claim it is an epidemic. Students blame it on the school systems. The stress levels are so high that, according to the counselor, 7 people at Seckman High School are currently taking time away from school because it is taking over their lives.

I, however, wonder if we could do something to prevent it. Scrolling through twitter, there are tweets, most often at night complaining about how much homework they were given, how they are overwhelmed, and how they are having breakdowns.

Students see that as a big problem, and it is. But people could see it with new eyes, looking from a different perspective. Maybe, if students didn’t wait until night to do their homework they wouldn’t be so stressed.

This generation is at a constant go. People are always doing, always moving, always thinking. They never slow down, calm down, and just sit in silence. It is actually a very effective way of reducing stress. Most would then claim that they don’t have any time to just sit still, but my response to that would be then you are too busy, and at some point you are bound to have a mental break down.

For some, stress is unavoidable. You are involved in school, sports, and extracurricular activities and have a part time job. Stress is bound to occur now and again. But I believe that these are the people that complain less about their stress. These are the people who know what they are getting themselves into.

Many wait till the last minute, they aren’t productive with their time, they over-commit to things that they cannot end up succeeding in. And if they do succeed, it takes over their lives. Some are just lazy. They don’t even get that much work, but since they wait until the last minute, they complain.

Instead of complaining and just staring at the work in front of them, students need to take action. They need to be productive and take advantage of ANP time to reduce the time they are stuck doing work at home. Stress is unavoidable, so as students we need to do our best to manage it.

Take a walk, do something you really enjoy, sit outside when it is nice out, play with a pet, hang out with your family, watch a comedy, and stop thinking so much! You can succeed without the constant worry. Let it be.