For the longest time, students have experienced the stresses and pressures that come with entering high school.
Many feel pressure from other students, teachers, parents, or college applications, but everyone’s experiences are unique.
Whether you’re a senior, junior, sophomore, or even a freshman, college is probably on your mind.
I think that just being from this area, and just being really close with my parents, and not really traveling a lot has really helped me to get used to the environment.
— Sean Sheffield
At Woodside High School, stress differs from person to person.
“I think the stress that the schools put on the students is too much,” Tiffany Teele, a mother of a Woodside junior, said.
With competitive colleges like Stanford and Berkeley in the Bay Area, it makes the opportunities feel golden to attend such schools. Some parents feel that attending these colleges is a necessity for their children, so naturally they add an overlapping pressure. Personally, my parents have always pushed me to do my best, but they have never added on excess pressure. My mom, Tiffany Teele, feels that sometimes parents need to find a balancing point between pushing and pressuring.
“I think they [parents] can either help the pressure or contribute to it,” Teele mentioned. “Some parents may unknowingly be putting more pressures on their children.”
Every student is different, coming from different types of lives and backgrounds. Sean Sheffield is a junior at Woodside who was born and raised locally.
“I think that just being in this area, and just being really close with my parents, and not really traveling a lot has really helped me to get used to the environment,” Sheffield explained regarding his transition to high school.
For some who haven’t always lived in the Bay Area, they have a different perspective. School and college differ from all different countries, so moving here and trying to adapt may be very stressful for some. Ann Mashraki, Woodside junior, shares her perspective.
“In Egypt, it’s way more intense,” Mashraki stated. “Like for colleges and stuff, you have to get certain grades to be considered for certain majors.”
No matter your situation or where you’re from, everyone faces different struggles in high school.
