Issue #2
STEM Status
What Causes Stress & Anxiety???
Positive + Positive Can Equal Negative
A high school student's life is filled with stress and anxiety. Be it from class, college, or planning for the rest of their lives, stress is almost a guarantee in students. They are not alone in this, however, they often will have a support system of friends, family, and mentors assisting with this devious part of their lives. Although you’d think this would be consistent in every situation, it simply isn’t the case. Many students are pressured, sometimes unknowingly, into feeling as if they make any mistakes, then they will be considered a failure in the eyes of the adults they idolize.
As a young adult or teen, people are often most susceptible to the opinions of others. This is further strengthened if the person is someone they respect and idolize, such as a parent or admired mentor. It is often the case that these idolized people may not fully understand the sway they have over vulnerable young adults who look up to them, especially in the case of parental figures. They will often speak of how students' achievements affect them and be them positive or negative, they regularly burden the student. Positive makes it so they feel compelled to always keep the same results, while negative can discourage them from truly trying. The pressure from attempting to live up to expectations set on a student by their idols is often detrimental to both their grades and mental health.
The heavy weight on a teen’s mental health can lead to serious consequences including lack of sleep, mood swings, or even depression and loss of self-worth. In the case of positive feedback, it can force the student into a loop of attempting to live up to the expectations of others, when they should only be trying to live up to their own beliefs for themselves. When it comes to negative feedback, it can leave them feeling demotivated and defeated. This will destroy any chance of them becoming their best self, even if negativity isn't the intention, it can easily be the result if not careful.
These ideas may seem baseless to some people who may not have gone through a situation like this or who simply never cared about the opinions of others. I can guarantee that these situations do exist because I, a high school senior who is planning to go to college, have had many of the issues outlined here. While I am not commonly subjected to negative feedback, positive is something I have lots of experience with. Though at first this appears only as a positive, to someone like me, the positive feedback only ends up amplifying my stress. Contradictory as it may be, I will fall into a loop of not wanting to disappoint those who believe in me. I often end up focusing solely on it to the point where I begin to make mistakes due to things like losing sleep or self-doubt.
While it is not exclusively the duty of any adult to act as a model for up-and-coming young adults, it can be of great importance to an easily impressionable teen that they do. These figures must be careful what they say to a vulnerable young adult, because it can assuredly be misinterpreted and have its original meaning warped. Even positive affirmations, which aren’t inherently negative, can cause inverse effects on teens if not done with consideration. This can severely hurt the growth of a teen by targeting their fragile self-worth and confidence, since despite how they can act, most don’t have much due to basing lots of their personality off of others. After all, this is the time in their life they are finding out who they are, rather than who they pretend to be.
-Vincent Varrato
How can we manage our stress & Anxiety?
PD&J say to find a trusted adult... try these!
Or try
Listening
to Music!
Check out these custom playlists for when you're stressed out! Created by Martele & Sh'Niya
instrumental
Country!
Pop!
R&B!
Zoe, Aubrey, & Malina Interviewed all grades to find the safe spaces and people at STEM HS... watch their interviews on STEM STatus Tiktok!
What else can we do?
And when weather permits,
go outside!
Stay tuned for a special holiday episode of PD&J!
STEM Status Issue #1
A sketch of Nonda's Favorite Things, by Nonda Mon
This digital magazine was created by the STEM HS class of 2023 ELA 12 classes. Each issue will focus on a topic about which the seniors are passionate!
In honor of the 10th anniversary of STEM High School, the class of 2023 dedicates the FIRST issue of STEM Status to honoring all of the things that we love about being STEM Eagles!
You know you went to STEM if…
- …Robotics fills you with pride in your school.
- …you know ALL the in’s and out’s of Google Slide presentations.
- …you hear the phrase “design process” daily!
- …when you hear the name Cohen, your ears start ringing.
- …you know the difference between an IP address and a MAC address.
- …the quadratic formula makes you shiver.
- …you respawn after a rough day.
- …you’re used to going off on a “cotangent.”
- …the word “sandwich” brings the image of an axolotl to your mind.
- …you hear the phrase “touch grass” a lot at morning meetings.
- …pi means a little more than 3.14.
- …you’re a “learner” and not a “student.”
- …the term “school norms” brings to mind “mutual respect,” “focus on productivity,” and “high expectations.”
- …you know of the terms “core values” and “frontier habits.”
- …you hear the word Capstone and shudder.
- …you called all your teachers “Coach.”
- …早上好 (Zaoshang hao) is a familiar greeting.
- …you’ve memorized ten-thousand terms that start with the letter “I.”
- …you have no sports team but have esports!
- …you come to school at 7 in the morning.
- …everything has an eagle on it.
- …every assignment is considered “mastery” or “non-mastery.”
- …you graduate at the beginning of May.
- …there are no A days or B days, just “Monday-Wednesdays” and “Tuesday-Thursdays.”
- …you’re an early eagle.
- …everyone knows everyone.
- …your days off from school always conflict with your siblings’ days off from school.
- …you get to say you’ve been on campus longer than you’ve been in college.
- …you get to say you’ve been on campus without having been in college.
- …you hear “we soar together” every day.
