Navigating Books & Life:
The school year is a time of new possibilities, challenges, and opportunities. It is a year of unforgettable memories waiting to be experienced, people waiting to be met, new endeavors that will uncover a path untraveled, and endless stories that we will keep retelling well after the year is done. It is truly a remarkable time where students should be able to experience lifelong memories. However, several pressing issues that heavily affect students hamper such expectations, the pressure in the academic environment being a prominent example. Since the beginning, it has been ingrained in students to shoot for the stars in everything they do for school: to get the highest score on every exam, to win every competition, or to stay up all night to figure out the answers to every complex problem. Students are thrust into positions where they take the brunt of the pressure of parents, society, and peers, everyone amplifying the very same message: to push themselves beyond limits to build a bright future.
Although beautiful in innumerable ways, school is undoubtedly a deep-rooted cause in many students’ stress, pressure, and anxiety. From the sleepless nights of homework to the perpetual piles of tests and exams, school is constant and omnipresent, seeping into all corners of students’ lives beyond the walls of campus. Because school is a nine-month long marathon where students race against the clock with their minds perennially revolving around finishing work, getting a perfect score on an exam, maintaining class rank, keeping up social status, spending hours to work on extracurricular activities, all while spending quality time with friends and family, staying mindful of each day can prove to be difficult. School’s dynamic and unpredictable nature tends to impede students’ abilities to rest and recharge, to step back from the chaos of it all and find repose in friends and moments that should be remembered as valuable memories.
The fervent academic pressure that follows students and their everyday lives can feel like an impossible obstacle to overcome in making the school year memorable. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Today is the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you’ll ever be again.” This quote captures the importance of valuing each passing day as a small moment in the endless stories and chapters that is life, especially the days of the school year, because ultimately, our time with Goose Creek is a blip in the grand scheme of things. Students must push through the obstacles that come with being dedicated academics to end their time with the Goose holding an abundance of memories, experiences, and friendships. They must learn the intricate task of figuring out how to prioritize the countless aspects of life, to carefully choose what to keep and what to let go, and to strategically split the limited time of each day, all while managing the weight that school bears upon the shoulders of every student.
Academic pressure is a prominent, seemingly insurmountable drawback in the school year, inhibiting students from taking a breather and stepping back to appreciate the present stage of their life. Students must learn how to navigate the complexities in balancing out the hardships of school, just as well with the parts of it that become a core part of who we are- the community we build, the mentors we owe parts of our wisdom to, the lessons that shape our perspectives, and the experiences we’ll hold close for times to come. Directing the resilience and insight we learn through these to the pressure we face, we can make this year the best one yet.