Skinny. Smart. Spectacular at sports. The pressure to be the best, the prettiest, the most popular, or the smartest builds and weighs down upon teenagers every day. The media tells us that in order to meet the standards of today we have to wear the right clothes, hang out with the right people, and, for girls, look like the latest teen superstar. I don’t know about the rest of our generation, but I don’t fit the mold. Yet, the pressure to be perfect is always lurking just around the corner.
Striving to get good grades is one thing. But pulling frequent all-nighters, depriving yourself of sleep, and forgetting to eat because you’re so busy doing work isn’t healthy. I get it. I had six projects due this past Monday, and I am still trying to make up the hours of sleep I didn’t get. Grades are important, but they aren’t worth risking your health over. Also, the lack of sleep mixed with stress will leave you with blotchy skin and trigger-happy attitude toward others. If you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to finish work, then maybe you need to reconsider your choice to take all AP courses, dual enrollment, and that after school French IV class.
Two out of every 100 students have some form of an eating disorder. The need for control and the need to be perfect is taking a toll on high school girls around the world. We read Cosmopolitan and Seventeen as if they were the bible. We gawk over models and stare at ourselves in the mirror while we point out every minute flaw. You are beautiful. You don’t need to be a size 0 or wear heels fit for an exotic dancer in order to be pretty. Frizzy hair, freckles, a less-than-sparkling smile? You’re still beautiful, and the media shouldn’t make you think otherwise.
Hours of practice every day. No breaks. Just adrenaline. Sports can play a major role in a student’s life. But the minute it becomes less of a passion and more of a burden, it’s time to step back and reevaluate. I play volleyball for both the school team and a club team, and I know what it’s like to play hard. The competition is tough, and you need to be tougher. But turning to things like steroids aren’t the way to boost your game. Also, playing or rehearsing with broken, sprained, or injured body parts is dangerous. Is this one activity, this one game, this one show worth risking pushing yourself over the edge? No. Be smart and think about the future. Hurting yourself is never a good idea.
Don’t stress over being what others want you to be. Live your life, not your friends’ or your parents’ lives. Don’t let the pressure crush you. And don’t take life too seriously. After all, “no one gets out alive in the end.”