Pressure plays a big role in teenagers’ lives every day. In school or in the sports that they play it can have a huge impact on their lives. For example, middle school students face significant pressure to perform well academically. Students focus on achieving good grades and meeting the standards they have set for themselves. When students compare their grades with those of another friend or peer, it can make them less confident in their performance. Students helped us understand how they try to do better in school. One student said that she comes in for extra help in the morning, after school, and during lunch. She said that this helps her understand the material that she is learning when she gets stuck and confused. She said that she tries to aim for high A’s on tests and quizzes, as well as trying to complete her homework right after school. This much pressure on a student can hurt their well-being and performance ability.
Another way that teens feel a lot of pressure is in their sports. Teens often feel that they need to excel in every game, practice, competition, or tournament. They feel the need to do well to impress their parents, coaches, teammates, etc. Adalena Blankenship, a 7th grader, says that “Pressuring myself in my sport makes me nervous and less confident.” Pressuring yourself can cause so many problems for teens. One of the primary concerns for students due to the high pressure is leading to athletes dropping out of sports. Roughly 70% of teens drop out of their sports due to burnout that is caused by pressure. An example of someone feeling this way is Ani Najarian, who says, “The constant pressure from coaches and parents, and wanting to be the best at something while also having to balance social friendships, can make me want to drop out of my sport.”
An 8th-grade student here at Roosevelt, Paige Aslanian, said, “Being who I am feels like a competition, because I feel like I am always judged, and I feel like I have to care and feel like I need to be someone else. ”Comparing yourself and putting yourself under so much pressure only gets worse as you get older. We took a survey from different grade classes, and it shows us that when you get older, you put a lot more pressure on yourself with school and sports. The 6th-grade class had 3/12 people tell us that they feel pressured, the 7th-grade class had 20/22, and the 8th-grade class had 24/25. The amount of pressure and comparison you put on yourself can weaken your performance ability and make you less confident in yourself. Pressure is a big thing in teens’ lives every day, and these examples are just a few of the many ways that teens pressure themselves.