Pick two

Students are challenged daily with the decision of what their priorities are. Teenagers are the most stressed out of any other age group because they are expected to act like adults, yet treated like children. Between having many things to do places to go and people to see, it can get a little bit difficult to really make the right decision.

I know I stress all of the time about what I should do. The three things teenage students need to decide between are schoolwork, sleep, and a social life. I don’t think teachers understand the amount of stress they cause us with the amount of work we receive. I don’t just receive an insane amount of work in one class, but instead in every class of the day. Of course if I want to obtain good grades and have the opportunity to go to college, I have to do all of my assignments. I usually spend my nights doing homework, which is awful because I am already so exhausted after waking up at six in the morning and being lectured for eight hours.

Most students are sleep deprived due to busy school nights. The average amount of sleep a person should get is eight hours. I know for a fact I cannot get eight hours of sleep on a school night. I go to bed at 11 o’clock the earliest, and wake up at six in the morning. The maximum amount of sleep I can receive is seven hours. I am always exhausted in the morning, which doesn’t help me concentrate super early in the morning.

At the same time, if I don’t stay up late then I wont have time to finish all my work. I stay up late because after school I have multiple priorities, and I tend to concentrate my best on homework if I do it when I am relaxed and in bed. I can’t not finish my work, therefor I will stay up as late as I need to in order to get everything done. If I choose to finish all of my homework and get a good night sleep, when will I have time to socialize? If I choose to get a good night sleep and socialize, when will I have time to do my homework? If I choose to socialize and do all of my homework, when will I have time to sleep? All three options contradict each other, and realistically it is only possible to pick two priorities leaving the third one out. This decision of choosing two is placed into the hands of teens daily.