Walking through the halls of Alliance High School makes many different thoughts run through students’ mind. What is the point of this? How will I use this in the future? What time does this class get over? Do I really need to do this?

Students from everywhere walk around thinking about what they want to do with the rest of their lives, and they’re expected to know this by graduation day. Fifty to seventy percent of students change their major at least once in college, so, why are we expected to know now? There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a stay at home mom or dad, architect, doctor, teacher, police officer, janitor, or landscaper. But it seems that people don’t look at what they will enjoy doing for the rest of their lives; they look at the numbers. How much will I make? What is the demand for this occupation? Am I going to be able to find a job in the right area, with the right amount of money, and with people I enjoy working with?

It seems like people’s lives are run like a school day. From bell to bell, we are told where to go, what to bring, how to think, what to remember, and how to act. I’m not saying that the rules are pointless, they’re there for good reason, but there is a time when it goes too far. Time runs our lives. Four years of high school, two to four years of undergraduate program, two to four years of graduate program if you want to, and maybe more schooling after. This is when people start to get married in this time of your life, have kids after, provide for your family and look forward to retirement then live like that until the end of life. So with the rest of our lives staring at us in the face, it’s easy to make a hasty decision and have it be wrong.

As handy as it would be for a college education to be free, that’s an unrealistic expectation, but then again so are most students’ expectations of their future. Most don’t figure in the other paths, or unexpected mishaps. Another number that controls our lives beside your own personal ticking clock is money. Always being measured by materialistic items, tuition, taxes, bills and the basic necessities for life. Everything comes back to school. Getting a good job, while doing something you love should be what everyone wants. These four years don’t have to decide the rest of your life. They just open doors for it.

The amount of stress that high school students have is high. Stress can lead to health problems. It causes a sense of panic of being stuck which only causes more stress. Some emotional effects are moodiness, feeling the need to take control, having trouble relaxing and clearing your mind, low self-esteem, and avoiding others. The physical effects include headaches, immune systems weakening, insomnia and many others. Cognitive symptoms are constant worrying, forgetfulness, poor judgment, and inability to focus. Behavioral symptoms include procrastination, increased use of alcohol and cigarettes and increased nervous behaviors. It’s safe to say that most high school students have these symptoms on a day-to-day basis.

We are grades on a paper, scores after a test, applications that are accepted or denied. We are students trying to figure our futures out, and people trying to figure ourselves out. As a high school student it’s safe to say that over half the students at AHS have the symptoms of stress. So as we walk the hallways to our next class of what seems like four years too long, consider the fact that not everything will be this easy the rest of your life, so enjoy it while it lasts and everything will get better. It might seem like too long now; but it’ll be gone before you know it.