Stress has the capability to consume student’s lives daily, because of this, students are finding ways to de-stress from their school day.
“I love being involved with theatre. Theatre is a great distraction and a great source of my happiness,” junior Hana Lone said.
Specifically, she takes on new characters for shows, something she has been doing since the seventh grade, as a way to rid herself of her stress.
These de-stressing extracurriculars that students take on can, however, take away a substantial amount of time from a student’s schedule. While maintaining good grades, balancing extracurriculars and jobs, students are losing time to sleep. Sleep is essential for everyday functions, and most students stress to fit in a few more hours of sleep into their busy schedules.
Jonathan Heo, a junior, takes time out of his schedule to participate and compete with orchestra despite the fact that it takes away time for him to do other things. He said that dealing with stress is essential for his everyday life and believes that being stressed out can greatly affect his performances.
“I don’t agree that any form of stress or nerves is beneficial for my performances. I enjoy playing the cello as a way to wind down from my day,” Heo said.
Heo suggests that everybody should find a way to de-stress. Heo relieves his stress before a big test by having a snack and listening to some of his favorite music. He strongly believes he can recover from a stressful day by escaping to a world of music. Subsequently, Heo finds playing the cello competitively to be relaxing because he finds the sense of competition to be thrilling.
“I liked preparing for All Region because it’s a passion of mine. It was a lot of hard work and pressure, but it’s worth it,” Heo said.
Although stress drives many students to work harder in their craft, stress can be harmful for students if not cared for correctly. According to Mayo Clinic, stressors can lead up to serious health conditions and habits such as anxiety disorders, depression, insomnia, digestive problems, weight gain, memory loss and concentration impairment.
Verania Hernandez, a junior band student, despite the pressure to excel, Hernandez said she enjoys using the arts, such as band, as a distraction to relieve her school stress and prevent any health issues related to stress.
“I always heard that a little stress is supposed to be beneficial. I hate feeling anxious, but the end result of hard work is always worth it,” Hernandez said.
The problem with being overworked and stressed is that it can cause a person to become rundown and exhausted. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 8-10 hours of sleep for teenagers ages 14-18. Most teenagers don’t receive that. Instead they are staying up late because they are working on homework, working or coming home late from practice.
Lone constantly feels overworked and stressed from school, but she finds other ways besides theatre to relieve herself of it. She said that sometimes it’s the smallest and simplest things that can make all the difference in her mood.
“Sometimes just hanging out with my family or purchasing a new a shirt can boost my happiness and get rid of my stress for a while,” Lone said.
Even though students can be runned down and pressured by academics, the arts have been a way for them to cope with their daily stress.