Students often try so hard to join many activities at school to stay well-rounded, get into a good college and overall improve their high school experience. However, piling up all these clubs and sports, combined with schoolwork, can lead to early burnout and mental health issues that affect many teenagers.
Of course, it is good to be involved and stay well-rounded, but physical and mental health should not be declining. Students need time to decompress and relax, so they do not have to worry about all of their commitments all the time. What is needed is balance.
Junior Rebecca Rodeck is involved in ACE, Student Council, French club, Fillies varsity dance team and dance outside of school. Along with these, she is also in many honors and AP classes here at DGS.
“It’s often very difficult to get my homework done, especially when I come home extremely exhausted from practice … I end up getting schoolwork done later, which then hurts my sleep, which makes it difficult to focus in class and on new work,” Rodeck said.
When a student is involved in so many activities, they start to take away from one another, and ruin the well-rounded aspect that was strived for in the beginning.
Sophomore Autumn Cervantes is involved in Student Council, The Base, ACE, Pintos JV dance team and dance outside of school. She also balances these activities with difficult honors classes.
“I feel like I have to do so many activities to feel accomplished and like I’m doing enough. Everyone else around me talks about college so much and how much you have to do to do well, and it really stresses me out,” Cervantes said.
The stress from others around you can really affect your own mental health as well. With our activities and grades, it’s easy to compare ourselves to others around us and feel inferior. That can have a big negative impact on mental health.
“Everything just builds up, though, and then I have to try to restart on the weekend, but then I normally have other stuff that doesn’t let me restart, so it’s a never-ending cycle,” Rodeck said.
Overall, being well-rounded shouldn’t mean that you have to sacrifice your mental health; it should mean growing as a person. When students set boundaries for themselves, they can have the energy to truly thrive. Finding that balance is what allows students to not get so overwhelmed.
