Jayna Jones ’17 and Alicia Thompson ’17, creators of the school’s “Uniquely Weekly” poll, recently provided the community with a graphic display of student stress levels during the year. Based on the admittedly few responses given to the survey, it was clear that results were greatly skewed by an underrepresentation of underclassmen and overrepresentation of senior experiences. Upon breaking it down by the numbers, the poll received 76 responses total. Of this, 2% of responses offered the freshman perspective, 9% offered the sophomore perspective, 34% offered the junior perspective, and 53% offered the senior perspective.

The underrepresentation of underclassmen leads to a massive nonresponse bias. This is based on the convenience-sampling nature of a survey. However, it does not account for the massive peak in stress levels that juniors and seniors experience. When asked to identify her stress, Elena Kirifides ’17 noted: “My stress comes from applying to college and having an unusual schedule. I take two science and two math classes, which isn’t very common, so the blocks don’t really line up well.” The stress that comes with doubling-up in a subject was expanded upon by another student. This student recognized that, for some, doubling in history may be less stressful than doubling in math or science—particularly if one takes Scott Clothier’s ‘History of the Cold War’ in conjunction with Javier Ergueta’s ‘History of the 20th Century.’ Some suggested that by studying for their Cold War class, a student may also be gaining insight for their History of the 20th Century class as the two topics run together fairly seamlessly. This comes in great contrast to the stress one may experience when taking, for example, Erica Childs’ ‘AP Statistics’ course and John Roskovensky’s ‘AP Calculus’ course.

Returning to Kirifides’ previous statement, she finished her list of stressors by extending her scope outside of strictly Friends School affairs: “College applications have grown to feel like an extra obligation on top of everything else I already have to do for school. It oftentimes feels like everything sort of adds up to become a huge to-do list that needs to be tackled immediately.” What may be comforting to Kirifides, but concerning to others, is that she is not the only one that feels this way. When asked about the same matter, Katie Bodycot ’17 indicated: “My stress comes from the presence of an overwhelming to-do list that needs to be completed as well as trying to balance the tasks on this list, while still having time to participate in the sports and other extra curriculars that many colleges look for.” This discussion of what brings stress on brought to light the, perhaps, more significant discussion of what one can do in order to relieve stress.

While many people are familiar with the basics of destressing—exercise, a good diet, and plenty of sleep—Bodycot has also found that, “The best way for me to cope is taking 15 minutes for myself to whatever I like to do and then going to back to my work.”  Furthermore, Chemisty teacher Sarah O’Brien shared her wisdom on destressing tactics by emphasizing the great benefits exercise can have. O’Brien recognized, “It can be difficult to make yourself find time to workout when you already have a full schedule, but it is rewarding and beneficial.” Beneficial is right. In fact, scientists have proven countless times that increased physical activity stimulates new brain cell growth. The increase in brain cell growth will directly enhance a student’s ability to focus on their work which will, in turn, increase productivity.

Overall, it seems the overarching message, which transcended across all comments on stress, is that stress can be managed by taking time for oneself. Numerous community members have indicated that taking time for oneself, let that be 15 minutes of alone time or 45 minutes of exercise, leads to feeling refreshed and can renew a sense of focus. So, the next time you find yourself struggling with a long to-do list, take a few steps back and allow time for yourself. Then, get back to the grind!