By Mariza Liaw and Trinity Lam

High school is hard. That’s a fact of life. Especially now, with Covid changing the way high school works, stress is something that more and more people are going through nowadays. Even though students are only doing two courses, meaning more coursework and a faster pace of learning, it allows people to live a much harder life than before. After interviewing students and teachers at St. Augustine, it seems like everyone has their own way of adapting to the stress. 

“My experience during covid is just school at home. It wasn’t extra stressful or anything. It’s just, I feel like it’s easier to get distracted at home.”

Aden Lee, Grade 9

“My experience was actually not that bad so far during this pandemic. This is because my daily lifestyle still hasn’t been greatly affected.

In my opinion this is an experience that can help me grow as a person, as for dealing with stress, I’m actually not. I never found this pandemic stressful in any kind of way. If I were stressed I’d give time for myself to take a break from all my school work and just have a breather.”

Kaitlyn Mackey-Min, Grade 9

Students in grade 9 are going through their first year in high school, and it’s saddening to say that they aren’t going to have the fun experiences everyone talks about. Team sports, certain clubs, and classes are not the way they used to be. For some people, the stress comes not from schoolwork, but from the fact that they don’t get to see their friends very much. 

Spending time with friends is a prime way to alleviate stress, and right now because it helps reduce our stress level and allows us to continue to have fun during these hard times. The best way to do so is through social media platforms like Zoom, FaceTime, or Instagram. Even though you don’t get to talk with them in person, sometimes just chatting with them, online is enough to lessen stress. 

“I mean grade 10 math is stressful ‘cause 1) its STEM, and 2) we basically rushed through everything because of covid. I try to talk to my friends, and that’s how I relieve stress.” 

Liora DeSouza, Grade 10

“It has been pretty hard to get used to. After going to school and having basically the same routine, online school has changed a lot. I think to take the time to be with friends, either online or in person.”

Anonymous

If the stress you’re feeling is coming from the workload, then perhaps it’s time to get a notebook or an agenda. Agendas are great ways to stay organized, and when you’re organized, you become less stressed. When you have an assignment, note it down and write the due date next to it. Then, prioritize your agenda by numbering off which tasks are the most important to the least important. This is a strategy that is highly useful when remembering homework and easing stress about work. Sometimes, people panic when they see a long list of assignments, but really, only some of those assignments are tasks that actually need to be done that day. After organizing your work and determining what you are going to do on which days, a fair amount of stress will be lifted off your shoulders.

“Currently, I am attending school from home, as I am in Cohort C. Obviously, it’s not an ideal position, especially considering the fact that it is my last year of highschool. However, I know it’s very important to keep my family safe. I do my best to balance my workload with my mental health which has definitely been a challenge with these fast-paced quadmesters but on the other hand, I feel so lucky to have a great support system made up of friends and family. I am missing out on all the school sports I’ve been involved with over the years, but fingers crossed for the spring! These fast paced semesters are hard on both the students as well as the teachers. I deal with the stress of school, university applications and the rest of my busy schedule by writing everything down in my agenda and making the most of my free time. I am someone who likes to keep busy, so it definitely helps to compartmentalize meaning when I’m finished a class and have to go to an extracurricular meeting, I leave the stress of my class behind and get into a fresh mindset so I can enjoy what’s up next. This strategy has helped me make the most of my extracurriculars and I have also found that I am more calm the next time I visit the classwork that has been stressing me out.”

Kiara Mavalwala

“I have found that teaching during this pandemic highlight’s MacIntyre’s observation that we are ‘Dependent Rational Animals’. Our success is a shared one. I don’t think I have ever had to engineer so many pedagogical techniques, to be connected to a class, and find that the class had already created a shared learning environment. I think we need to recognize that teachers are not the ones that need accolades; the students are the ones that give us the telos.”

Anonymous Teacher

Another thing that can ease your stress is staying active. One thing that keeps stress from getting you down is physical activity. Whether it’s just going out for a walk, or going to practice with your sports team, a breath of fresh air and a break from the computer screens can definitely clear your mind and calm you down.

So, don’t worry that much about the quadmester! There are so many ways for you to ease your stress about school, friends, or work. And remember, no Titan walks alone!