Upon
entering high school, I was surrounded by people who believed that the only to
succeed in life is to get good grades. Most of my friends will push aside
friends and family in order to have a better GPA. The result is that they are a
mixture of sleepless nights, overbearing stress, and coffee. As a senior, I see
these people and don’t understand why they put themselves through so much.
Growing up, I was a victim of bullying. I have never had a core group of
friends and I have always felt like the outcast. I suffered and persevered
though times of conflict and darkness. In these times, I constantly turned away
from my family and friends, isolating myself from the real world and was
surrounded by my own mental downfall. There were days I would lock myself in my
room and focus on homework, wanting to break down because of the problems going
on, instead of seeking help from my beloved friends and family. During my
sophomore year, there was one specific day that I remember waking up and
nothing hurt anymore. I realized that I was worth so much more than all the
torture I was putting myself through alone. In all my times of trouble, I could
have gone to people who cared for me and could have helped me through my
problems. And even though they wouldn’t be able to solve all my problems, I
would be surrounded by people who truly care for me. After this turning point,
I never saw school work the same. I realized just how much my friends and
family meant to me. I created a support system to surround myself with positive
influences. Since then, I realized that my happiness and mental health were
more important than any work that school could give me. My mentality became
that if I was maintaining A’s and B’s, my mental health came before anything
else. If my mom wanted to do something together, like go shopping or watch a tv
show together, I wasn’t going to say no because I had homework. In times like
these, I was aware of how materialistic homework, projects, and school work
was. When I am 35, I don’t want to remember spending my time stressing over
schoolwork. I would rather remember my younger years spending time with my
family and keeping myself in a positive mental state of mind. And I know that
not everyone understands my point of view. People wonder how someone my age can
have so many issues. Some people think that I am crazy that I don’t focus more
on school. People believe that all I should do with my time is study. But for
what I have gone through, at this point in my life, I have to say I believe I
am very successful. I have gone through difficult times and have come out
stronger than ever. I have maintained a positive mental state of mind for the
past 2 years, and to me that is a bigger accomplishment than any GPA.
Find the shape and tell it!
I love your piece! I applaud you for being nothing but genuine and honest to us. I'm sure your story is relatable to other students, including myself, and it's nice to know that we weren't alone. You showed me another student perspective on the damages one can do to themselves and those around them due to school work. I'm glad you put your own mental health before any type of school work because I believe your own sanity is far more important than any assignment. Overall, this was an extremely well-written story. I'm proud of you Gabriella!
ReplyDeleteAmazing!!! Thank you for sharing your story and I completely support its importance. I think, or hope at least, that many make this realization in their young adults lives. Before it's too late we have to discover the importance of healthy relationships with others and with ourselves, and cherish them.
ReplyDeleteThis is truly an inspiring piece, I loved how straightforward you were with everything, telling it how it is. Because we are all so worried about getting good grades that we feel the need to shut everything out but like you said, when we're older, I wouldn't want to remember just stressing out about everything either. Thank you for saying what many of us are afraid to admit.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that this piece is relatable to many students, as a society we really do worry too much about our grades causing us to not acknowledge the more important things in our life such as our family and friends. I hope that your piece makes more people realize this. Reading your piece was enjoyable and I hope that you continue to stay positive throughout your future schooling.
ReplyDeleteGabriella, I really love this piece many due to the fact that I can relate with you on so many levels! I've been bullied before, and I've been so obsessed with my grades at a point in my life too. I am glad to see how positive your mindset is and how much its improved for the better. I think our peers will also realize this one day, and we are not alone. Great job!
ReplyDeleteGabby, this was truly eye opening. This piece if so relatable, and I think many of as high school students struggle with the stress from managing school work and spending time with our families. I'm so glad you decided to write about this topic, you used great personal examples and details that I believe will greatly impact your readers. Awesome Job, Gabby!
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all I want to say that i can relate to this on almost every level. I preach the importance of self-preservation on a daily basis and it made me so happy to read your piece knowing that there was some one else who felt the same way. As senior going through exactly what you're going to as far stressed friends, I want to applaud you for staying positive and focused on your happiness rather than grades or school or drama because the truth is, as you mentioned, that there is so much more to life. I truly hope people will read this and be inspired to take on the same outlook.
DeleteFrom reading the first sentence to the last sentence of the piece, I can say that I relate to the most part of it. As a high school student yes, there is a lot of stress doing assignments at the same time that can isolate us from spending time with our family and friends. I experienced this when I was a junior when I am so busy that I isolate myself from everyone then become upset being lonely. I am glad that you turn your mindset positively and look forward to the brighter side.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this piece is so relevant. I couldn't agree more. Going against what everyone else was saying is extremely brave and I applaud you for voicing your opinion on that matter. I feel like so many of our peers can agree with your piece and relate to the examples that you had. This piece was eye opening and so well written.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing! I relate to this piece on so many levels from I always choose to hang out with my family or friends than with staying in & stressing over little things that matter but don't really matter later in life. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to make a positive change in your life that helped you for the better. School, GPA, and homework are very stressful and can easily impact a student negatively. You were able to see what was wrong and chose your own well being over a few grades. I honestly wish I could give myself a break from all this stress, but its's very hard to push grades aside. I really enjoyed how real and emotional this writing was, well done!
ReplyDeleteI can strongly relate to this piece of the sleepless nights and stress. Sometimes I find it difficult to balance my social life and school work. I would agree that it is important that we value things that we might take for granted and brush off. You gave good examples of this issue, this was a well structured piece.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that I too have dedicated my time fully to school not realizing that I overwhelm myself. I think the way you expressed the concept of overwhelming in a perfect way and I love your solution of putting self before the concept of good grades. Great piece that can and will open the eyes of many who may still not see the negative impact that it can have on them.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this piece is very relevant, especially to me because I know at times I would cast myself away from the world just to be alone and figure out my problems myself, but not realizing there are many people who care and love me that would want to help. I can agree with because at times I would put school above anything else and stress myself out and not get the free time I need, but I learned to have balance.
ReplyDeleteI'm so proud of you! I remember you coming up to me that day and saying how everything clicked. Seeing how much you have grown in the little time we have known each other had been so inspiring and helpful. It's not crazy to see where your coming from. It's very mature and very intelligent to be able to step back and realize the important things in life. If you aren't mentally okay then nothing else in life will be okay following that. I've been so lucky to see you grow and develop throughout high school. You are such an amazing person and I'm on happyramid you are able to see that now as well. I truly believe that it is so imperative people read this and understand that there is more to life than what we are taught is important and taking a deep breath and that step back can make a world of difference.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with everything said in this post, we shouldn't let our work consume and destroy our personal lives as time is limited and so is our youth.
ReplyDeleteI really like the message being sent in this writing. A lot of people nowadays focus on their GPA and sacrifice their mental mind for that. Its really good that you realized that and im glad that youre happy and stable now! 😁
ReplyDeleteI really like the message being sent in this writing. A lot of people nowadays focus on their GPA and sacrifice their mental mind for that. Its really good that you realized that and im glad that youre happy and stable now! 😁
ReplyDeleteWow. This piece was great. The topic you chose is so relatable to your audience too. Everyday, students are constantly worried about that 4.0 GPA and getting into the most elite schools, but too often we lose track of our families and other important things in life. If we lose sight of the important things in our life, why should we even try to succeed? The importance of life is spending time with family and friends and others who we care about, not solely trying to impress them with a degree or the title of valedictorian. The message in your piece really has me thinking. Great Job
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