Junior year has often been shaped as the point where we define our lives, and we teens are supposed to have everything figured out. “Focus on your grades,” and “So, what do you want to be?” are some of the phrases our juniors hear repeatedly. The reality is that we do not have anything sorted, but we do have a messy room and slew of assignments coming our way every day. It is not easy to juggle maintaining a good GPA and participating in extracurricular activities along with taking the ACT. Instead, we are greeted with pressuring questions interrogating our persona! Put yourself in the shoes of our fellow classmates, “Is it really that hard?” you may ask. 

The intermediaries of high school, we are too old to find the joy of the younger kids, yet too young to taste the freedom of the real world. Instead, juniors are stuck. With little hope for a social life, these responsibilities put overwhelming pressure on students. We often choose to prioritize school over setting time aside for themselves creating an overwhelming stress.  

Truth be told, junior year is everything in between hard, difficult and stressful. It is important to never forget to prioritize yourself during these times and let loose a little. After all, our elders always say, “You only live once.”