By Sophie Gilbert ’19, Editor in Chief

Whenever I’m in a situation where a non-student explains how students can de-stress or improve their mental health, I’m unable to take it completely seriously. I don’t want to have that reaction; it’s not like any of the advice is wrong. Of course getting extra sleep, physical activity, and downtime improves mental health and relieves stress. But when I was listening to Ms. Spooner’s recent presentation on the necessity of “feeding your brain,” I couldn’t help but wonder: how were any of the goals attainable? Generally, when I visualize a typical school day, I struggle to see where the downtime, physical activity, or extra sleep can fit in. This isn’t just an issue of too much homework and extracurriculars; it points to a harmful mindset many students share.

This all became clear to me recently in English class when we had a free reading day. (Thanks, Dr. DeSanta!)  The entire class period was dedicated to reading whatever we wanted, and the only rule was that no schoolwork was allowed. I left the classroom feeling happy and refreshed; I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I had been able to read for pleasure, and I was just then remembering how much I used to enjoy it. In the midst of my period of tranquility, I suddenly recalled a thought I’d had earlier that day. I had been wishing that we could just have a regular study hall instead of a reading period, so that I could study for an upcoming test. It would still be relaxation, I had thought. It’s a free period! Now, I couldn’t believe I had been willing to trade the most relaxing hour I spent all day just for another hour of schoolwork. I realized that to get the necessary relaxation, a free period wasn’t enough, because it didn’t force me to actually relax.

Our issue as students is that whenever we do have downtime built into our day, we’re trained to view that as time we should be working. During any given free period, I may be sitting with friends, but we’ll have laptops open or books in our laps. When I drive home from school, I might be listening to my favorite music, but I’m still thinking about all of the upcoming labs or homework assignments. The most significant example of this mindset I can think of is Senior Mountain Day. After descending the mountain, when we spent a few hours barbecuing at a park, I overheard many students stressing about tests and college applications due in the oncoming days, wishing that the bus would just drive us home so that they could get to work. On the one day we had dedicated to physical activity and relaxation, many students were wishing we could be at home getting work done instead. That’s pretty scary. We spend our class time working, and our free time either working or stressed because we’re not working. So, it’s not enough simply to tell us that we need to take more downtime; the culture is too ingrained. Let’s implement more opportunities like the free reading day in English class. Instead of focusing on the stress, let’s try to understand the harmful mindsets many of us share, and combat them.

We all have something to be stressed about. Freshmen are entering their first year of high school. Sophomores are experiencing infamous courses like Chem and APUSH. Juniors are being told over and over again that their grades this year matter more than ever before. And seniors, of course, have the looming threat of The College Process following them wherever they go. All of these stressors may make us feel like we need to be working more, not less–that every second we spend not studying is a second wasted. But that’s the mindset we all need to work to reverse as much as possible. We’re all going to have the occasional all-night essay writing session or last-minute math test cram. Pretending that those times are completely avoidable isn’t helping anybody, and makes people feel like failures for experiencing them. But when we aren’t in the midst of an academic grind, let’s try to breathe a little. Let frees be frees and field trips be field trips. It won’t solve student stress by any means, but it’s a start.