As we start the 3rd nine weeks along with the gloomy weather, most students start feeling the pressure of the second to last grading period. I would say that most high schoolers would agree that this stretch of time is the most difficult of the four 9 weeks, but why is that? In this article, I asked students what their opinions are about this period of time and how they handle the struggle of school. Hopefully you don’t relate to these students’ hardships but rather find a solution to them if you do. 

Sophomore Alexandria Jones thinks the main reason for the stress of the 3rd nine weeks is because of the workload. 

“I think because teachers cram in a lot of work. It’s academically the hardest nine weeks,” said Jones. “I get extra tired and stressed.”

In order to make these times easier, she wants to tell teachers to “STOP. CRAMMING. WORK.”

Along with the workload, Jones wishes that teachers would teach less challenging lessons and be more understanding of students’ struggles. 

Freshman Cooper Allison thinks that this period of time is the most difficult due to Keystone practice. 

“(I wish teachers would) teach in a way that helps you and not just how they want.” said Allison.

Sophomore Maura Davies also agrees that this era is the most difficult, but has slightly different reasons as to why.

“The weather is poopy and cucky and seasonal depression is a real thing,” said Davies. 

Quick fourth wall break, she is absolutely correct. January through March are by far the worst months and nothing that anyone tells me can change this disgusting time of year to good. Now back to the article..

Davies also said “I feel so unmotivated to put forth my best effort into my schoolwork.”

I’m sure that a lot of us can relate to that one. Being burnt out is very common for high school students especially at this time. Most people say that taking a complete break from your work for a few days is the best solution, but that’s just not an option for us. With five days a week of eight different classes, plus studying and doing homework on the weekends, it seems impossible to escape.

I could give you the useless advice that everyone says like “make sure you get enough sleep” or “talk to your teachers about it” (who wants to do that?), but instead I’ll tell you some things that actually help me and other students. 

I’m going to start by saying that although we don’t like to hear it, sleep is absolutely important, specifically during a burnout period. It is hard to not procrastinate doing your work until the last minute, but put forth your best effort to get as much of your work done during the day. Compromising your sleep for homework is not only going to make you more tired, but also affect you in the days upcoming. A good sleep schedule is so much more important than we think. 

Don’t overwhelm yourself; other people do a good enough job doing that. Find a method to complete your work, whether that’s spreading it out in different parts of the day, or listening to Mario Kart Music and trying to get it done as fast as you can. (I can confirm that this works, at least for me.)

How these students deal with their problems is a little different though. 

Davies said that sometimes she just cries. Very valid answer. Like Mario Kart can’t help get work done faster, listening to Medieval Tavern Music is great when you DON’T want to cry. Try it. You literally can’t cry to it. 

A contrasting coping mechanism that Allison uses is playing baseball. Sports can be great stress relievers. 

I’m not too sure if the advice in this article will actually help anyone, but I need to turn in something and don’t want to start off the 3rd nine weeks with a bad grade, you know? Even if you still manage to fail every assignment ever, at least you know you aren’t alone. 

Here’s a link that you can copy and paste to my personal favorite anti-crying tunes: https://youtu.be/VnwD8zsGl2Y