i Generation
Balancing the pressures of our junior year
By Alyssa Christianson
High school is undoubtedly one of

the most life-changing and impressive parts of someone's life, for better or for worse.

Freshman year you're new to the school, your classes aren't just trying to find a place to fit in.

Sophomore year you kind of get into the groove of what high school is all about and you possibly start thinking about your future outside of your hometown.

Then junior year comes and it hits you like a ton of bricks. Suddenly it feels like you've got to make every decision about your future life in the span of one school year.

From beginning to look at colleges to probably taking your most difficult high school courses, junior year is plausibly one of the toughest and most significant 180-days of a high schooler's life so far.

Many students will be taking some of their hardest classes this year. At Oakmont, junior year is the only year that Advance Placement (AP) History is offered. I am taking this class when the school year begins and I've already begun to have anxiety attacks.

The summer reading alone has spanned my entire vacation and I'm in the process of reviewing for the entrance exam, which takes place the day before school starts.

Students' other classes will also be getting more difficult this year as they reach the upper levels of academics. From Calculus to Physics and the higher levels of language classes, students will definitely be feeling the weight of their classes.

Besides being in school, junior year students will most likely begin looking at colleges and thinking of where they want to go with their futures this year.

The pressure to decide so much in one year seems almost unbearable. Most students will probably find themselves thinking: "I'm only 16-or 17-years-old ... why do I have to start worrying about the rest

In the end, making decisions on colleges sooner than later will inevitably help lessen the stress as college application time approaches.

With the weight of schoolwork and major decisions mounting, juniors are also faced with another massive obstacle, the Scholastic Assessment Test (SATs). Another extremely important and stressful event in the life of a junior.

SATs are standardized tests to find each student's scholastic aptitude. Colleges examine your SAT score as a way to ultimately decide whether or not you're accepted into their school.

Feel the pressure yet?

Among other things, students are focused on their social, family and extracurricular lives. Juggling everything can result in less attention to certain parts of a student's life.

Fights will undeniably arise whether it is between parents and their children or friends. The stress of school ends up affecting everyone.

Hopefully, all of us juniors will survive this year and get through it successfully. Maybe we'll even have some fun on the side if we get a chance.

The most comfort we can have is in knowing that it won't last forever and that by getting the hard stuff out of the way now, with any luck our senior year will be carefree.

Push yourself now and reap the benefits later.

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Alyssa Christianson is a member of the Oakmont Regional High School Class of 2008. She resides in Ashburnham with her parents.