Maintaining The Balance Between Personal and School Life

Our lives as teenagers are made up of two worlds: school and personal. Both can be equally stressful and chaotic, even at the same time. It is important to distinguish the two and maintain that separation. Keeping a balance and not letting one take over the other is very important, and at times can be extremely difficult. Take this for an example: if your boyfriend/ girlfriend breaks up with you the night before finals, you still need to be able to focus on the tests the next day. Letting one overcome the other can be disastrous, because it leads to even more stress than you already have.

Both worlds are equally important and need equal amounts of attention. Focus too much on school, and neglect your brain the chance to relax. Focus too much on your social or personal life and you suffer academically. Keeping the two worlds from taking over each other is essential if you want to survive high school. When it is time to study, actually study; and when it is the weekend, try to designate some time to hanging out with your friends or family. You should get good grades at school but you also need the time to relax and be yourself.

I understand that this concept is a lot easier said than done. After all, some of the only times you get to see your friends are at school, and a lot of drama can go down in those six hours. When you are in a classroom try to mainly focus on what the teacher is saying, and when you are in the hallways try to talk about other things than academics. Personally, I have been guilty of talking nonstop about a test I got back as well as letting drama get in the way of my assignments. Both cases are not fun to deal with.

I think it is okay to ask your friends for help on assignments sometimes, so long as it is not all of the time. You don’t want them to think you are using them for their homework. I also think it is okay to procrastinate on your homework for a bit to help out a friend. But, the same rule applies, as long as it doesn’t go too far.

One reason not to let one world take over the other is that in the future you will need both social skills and good academics. Good academics might get you into a good college or a chance at a good job, but you will need your social and personal skills to ace the interview. Another reason is because when both of your worlds are in order, you can truly be happy. During those times, you can be confident in your grades and still have fun with your friends and family. I know those times can be rare, but they will never happen if your worlds are colliding.

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