Hidden Toil

By EDEN MARRIOTT

Dull, zombie-like faces. Classrooms filled with deafening silence, aside from the softness of fingers tapping away at phone screens. Peer in, and the sight is a room filled with listless teens, completely zoned out and disassociated from their work. Of course, there are the few with life in their eyes, eager to finish the year strong. Still, even they will inevitably succumb to the lackadaisical energy that permeates the room. This is the perfect physical manifestation of the “burnout” mentality, and its grip that has high schoolers in a literal chokehold.

Burnout, as defined by Psychology Today, is “a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress.” Oftentimes, the word is associated with adults grappling with their monotonous 9-to-5, or with college students who took on more courses than they could manage. Even the term “senioritis” encompasses that lackadaisical attitude commonplace for high school seniors. But what about the juniors who took on too many Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and the perfectionists who studied so diligently all year, just to fall short of a close to perfect GPA? 

The misconception of “easy years” in high school needs to be discarded. All four years of high school come with their difficulties, and many students aspire to succeed, thus putting their best foot forward for a majority of the year. But, when it comes to the later months and the year winding down, so does the gumption and willingness to put in effort. 

This issue is so prevalent because the end of the year is the time to be most studious and put one’s best foot forward. Finals need to be studied for, homework still needs to be turned in, and projects still need to be planned out then executed well for a good final grade. That’s often not what happens. A sophomore from NFA explained, “Well yeah, I mean, I get that we need to work hard, but, I’m done. Finals and regents and s****...there’s always next year.” And this mentality is a common one. However, seeing as finals compose an incredibly large chunk of one’s grade, this is the time to “lock in” the most.

Early burnout could potentially lead to long-term disengagement. Mental fatigue and the perception of having failed to achieve an academic goal in one year could potentially diminish a student’s will to succeed in the latter grades. 

So, how does one fix this mentality? Well, it’s fairly simple, at least according to Daniella Valle, a recent graduate from Stuyvesant High School. “To push yourself to do it, envision the big picture. If you’re an underclassman, look toward senior year. What do you want your rank to be? Your GPA? Your college acceptances? Embrace that future for yourself, and strive.” It’s easy to see the future as far off, but everything one does counts towards who they are being shaped into. Giving up at the end creates a languid mentality that makes one a quitter, which is the opposite of who one should pursue to be.

The academic year is challenging, and by the end, the temptation to slump into a state of laziness is so incredibly tantalizing. However, a sign of maturity is to rise above that compulsion. It is the most important time to push with the last bit of effort within oneself, although the weariness from the year feels like a yolk on their back.