“Confessions of a Stressed Out Seventh Grader”

Stress in School

You’ve seen the high schools in movies: Girls with long flowing hair, no one around them knocking them into lockers, wearing a beautiful, perfectly fitting uniform, aesthetic lighting, looking like they just got a perfect score on every test and homework assignment, without a care in the world and in no rush to get to class. 

And then reality hits for the rest of us. Welcome to the real world, where I look like a goblin when I first wake up in the morning (no aesthetic lighting for me), where the pressure is real to get to class on time, and to get anywhere near close to an average of 100 at school seems impossible. Especially as a seventh-grader. It’s confusing and stressful to get from class to class by running across the school in five minutes, trying not to fail out of school, and dealing with drama all at the same time. On any given night, I might cry for half an hour, get back to doing homework, and cry some more. And for someone who’s able to cry over a missing backpack (it’s happened), it’s hard for me to focus on getting my homework right or to even fall asleep sometimes because I don’t want to disappoint anyone, and I especially don’t want to spend all summer doing fractions. I feel awkward around people because I went from being one of the oldest kids in my school to one of the youngest. I feel awkward being short compared to everyone else. And that all adds to stress. 

Stress Online

Doing online school is stressful too. Internet problems, trying to get your teacher’s attention through a screen, a lack of materials, the constant distractions, and my least favorite: turning on your camera. I am self-conscious of how I look, and I am not proud to show my previously mentioned goblin face on camera. But teachers want me to broadcast it? I’ve had to hide my stress and sadness on Google Meets when I got a low grade on tests before, and it’s not something I want to be shown for all to see. I know that schools will try to help with these issues like “Motivation Monday” but it’s only a small bandaid to fix these issues. 

So in conclusion, I am stressed. I am tired. I am in need of a break from middle school.

Thank you for listening to my TED talk.