By Lauren Gapp

Our brains act like a sponge: they absorb and absorb and absorb, but they can’t take it in all at once. The older and more advanced you become, the more you have to take in. Just ask the freshmen!

Going from middle school to high school, the work load is heavy and our brains have to mop up all the information that is thrown at us. Everything we learn comes and goes so quickly and come time for mid-terms or final exams, we have to go back and remind ourselves what we learned.

Time management is huge in high school, especially with extracurricular activities.

“I plan my days so that everything is in order, but I’m not good at time managing all of my extra things with my school things,” freshman Kayla Quinn said.

Along with the effort to manage time comes stress. Teenhelp.com says that about 70 percent of people who are stressed or have anxiety it is because they can’t grasp what they are learning.

“I’m up for a long time at night trying to get everything done and that makes me tired and adds stress caused by my homework,” Quinn said.

It’s a good thing to keep yourself on task and up to date with your assignments so that you are not stressed when you are given more work.

“I try not to freak out [when I’m stressed out] and keep working,” sophomore Emily Money said.

To keep yourself on task try listening to music. Music helps to keep you on task by blocking out distracting things that are going on around you.

“It helps me not get bored and quit,”  freshman Rithu Uppalapati said.

Teachers and parents always encourage kids to ask for help or put more effort and time into what they do. It is then up to the kid to take control of their lives and decide what is best for them. Many kids don’t take this opportunity because they are embarrassed to ask a question thinking they will sound dumb.

When a person is not motivated they tend to go home and assume they will work better there.  “I usually go home and finish all of my homework, then if I need to go somewhere I can fit it in without worrying about homework,” Uppalapati said.

Some kids “I will just save my homework for home” then they will focus better there. That is fine but who wants tons of homework? Most people don’t. If you are given class time to work on something, take that advantage. If you are having a really hard time focusing try talking to a teacher to see what they can do.

“The best time for students to ask for help is at the end of class, or over email. I find that over email students can ask more and I can answer better,” English teacher Melissa Borgquist said.

Put time and effort into your school work, which is the only way you can truly succeed when you are in a stressful situation.