The school year recently ended for me and usually summer is every student's favorite time because there's no school, there's vacations, and we can hang out with friends or family. However, I noticed that as I got older and entered high school, summers have become almost a depressing time. During the summer, I want to relax and have fun too, but when I do, I feel guilty and feel like I should be doing something more productive with my time. Yes, there are times where I have fun and go on trips with my family, but I know and am told to use any down time to study or do homework. Another reason why I have started to dread summers is because they have become filled with classes to get ahead, summer homework for next year's classes, prep for tests like the SAT, and college applications. A lot of my classes are also giving tests on the first day/week of school based on the summer homework content which means I will have to study a lot. All of these things I have to get done during the summer have caused a ton of anxiety for me. I usually get a lot of anxiety very easily when I start a new part of my life, like a new school year, a new activity, or new class. So with the start of this summer and with all of the new things, I just feel overwhelmed. I know there are students out there that are doing much more than me this summer and are probably fine, but I just want to know how they have that mental and emotional bandwidth and how they keep that anxiety down. Please let me know how to approach this issue, as I know its a problem with my mentality and how I am approaching all of this work.
This is a very interesting and important topic. I don't think you are alone feeling this way for the summer break. Being a mother, I hope my teens have a more balanced summer, academic & extracurricular activities along with enough down time and fun events. I know it is easier to say than done. But at least, I think a daily and weekly schedule with building in the down time and fun time and stick to it, it may help to keep your busy summer more balanced and predictable. I hope this trick will help to reduce your anxiety and mental stress.
Actually, I'm very curious about this topic since my teens share the same stress. I hope to hear the opinions and tips from other teens and parents, so I know how to better support and help my teens too. Thanks!
