Homework is piling up with notes spread out in every direction. Waiting in anticipation for tests to be graded. Questioning if the assignment is due at 3:00 pm or 11:59 pm. A lot of things cause BVN students stress. How does the stress happen, and how do students manage it?

Sophomore Ivy Khiew stated that the jump from freshman to sophomore year hasn’t affected her too much, but that there is definitely more homework. She mentioned that she receives the most homework in her AP World History, Honors Algebra II, and Honors Chemistry classes. 

When asked how efficient she was with managing her stress levels, Khiew stated that it depended on the day.

“I’m very on and off with my productivity. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to get all my work done at school and I’ll have barely anything to do at home which feels really good. Other days, I just want to go home and take a nap and not do anything,” Khiew said.

Khiew has a wide range of activities she likes to do in order to de-stress.

 “I like to watch crime documentaries and I like mystery [books] just because they are really fun to read,” Khiew said.

Although Khiew is content with the ways that she de-stresses, she sometimes wishes that she was more organized and believes that this would lead to less stress overall. 

Stress is a factor that can take a heavy toll on people, especially students. According to Red Cross, stress can trigger irritability, aggression, a feeling of loss of control, insomnia, fatigue, concentration or memory problems, and much more.

There are, however, many ways to de-stress so that the symptoms do not go on to become a continual problem. 

Senior Justyna Hayslett stated that making collages helps her destress.

“If I see a word, phrase or image in a magazine, I just kind of cut it out and paste it on a piece of paper. I have something called ‘Create This Book’ and it’s just kind of like my ‘de-stress,’, especially over the summer or breaks,” Hayslett said.

Hayslett mentioned that “Create This Book” was something that she started doing during COVID with her friends. 

“It’s a book with a bunch of drawing prompts and everything,” Hayslett said. 

When it comes to using other ways to prevent stress, she wished she would put her phone away. 

“I do get distracted by my phone. If I get a text message, all of my attention goes to that. Then I end up spending thirty minutes on my phone on Instagram or texting someone. That just distracts me from my homework,” Hayslett said. 

Stress and its correlation with homework, tests, extracurriculars, etc. can look very different from a teacher’s perspective. Spanish 1 and 3 teacher Señora Carenas stated that she, along with other Spanish teachers, does not tend to give out homework. 

“We [Spanish teachers] just don’t really see a need for it [homework] other than just studying on your own if you have an assessment,” Carenas said. 

Carenas also stated her own opinions on students’ homework load. 

“I think kids should be allowed to be kids after school, and having so many hours of homework is stressful. They [students] have been in school for so many hours so they shouldn’t have to be working all night, too,” Carenas said.

Opinions on stress and all the aspects that feed into it can vary from person to person. However, most can agree that stress is a heavy issue, especially with students, and that the steps taken to manage it are essential to one’s well-being.