Advice commentary: Frenzy and tired

By Jasmine Rosmon
Photos by Jasmine Rosmon

Do you attend school and have a job? Do you have entirely too many responsibilities on an average day? Do you sometimes feel like you are overworked? If the answer is yes to any or all three of the questions, then you may be "frenzied." Your average day may consist of so many activities that sometimes you may feel stressed. Well, you are not alone.

I was once a frenzied teen. I would go to school and do my best to maintain good grades. I was a member of a book club, which meant I had to attend book club meetings. In addition, I volunteered at my neighborhood Boys and Girls Club. Like most teens, I also had responsibilities to take care of at home. All of the above contributed to me feeling overworked, making my stress level increase.

Advice for the frenzied

* Make a decision on what activities are most important throughout your day. Remove the activities that are not so important. You will now have more time to yourself for the things you enjoy.

* Take advantage of your weekends! Since you don't have school, it will be best to get important activities out the way as early as possible, then the remainder of the weekend can be valuable "me" time.

* Expand your social life. Nothing relieves stress better than hanging out with friends and going to new places.

* Sleep! Try your best to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

--Jasmine Rosmon

Counselor: Too many duties are harmful

Sometimes a frenzied teen is not aware of the changes and how others may view them. Tierra Moore, a college and career coach at Best Practice High School, gives her thoughts and views of frenzied teens:

How do you feel about teens being overworked?
I believe too many duties can be stressful for teenagers, especially since these are the years where they are just learning to manage their time.

How do you feel being overworked/overbooked affects the teen's work ethic?
Being overworked/overbooked can have a negative impact on a teen's work ethic, because it often causes a teen not to put 100% into all that they do.

What do you think is a good solution for teens feeling overwhelmed?
Teens should evaluate what's most important and determine what activities need to be dropped.

Describe the teen workload/responsiblities now versus when you were a teen?
Some teens now have to contribute to the household financially, which means they don't contribute their time academics. Also, more teens now feel that they need jobs.

--Jasmine Rosmon

Don't be alarmed! There is a solution for feeling overworked, overwhelmed and just down right frenzied. It simply consists of using a little thing we call time management. I personally had to cut several activities on my schedule and limit them to certain days. At a point, I even ended up dropping some of my extracurricular activities, like the book club. Then I noticed the extra time I had on my hands. I used the free time in many ways. Needless to say, it was a great relief. Enough about my frenzied experience, this is a problem that also affects others like myself!

Desiree Peete, a junior at Best Practice High School, could relate to my experience. Here is a day in Peete's life:

4:30a.m-Wakes up and gets ready for school

6:45a.m.-Leaves for school

8:00 a.m.- School starts

2:28p.m.-School ends

3:15p.m.-3:30p.m.-Arrives at her part-time job

6:00p.m.-Leaves her job

8:00p.m.- Arrives home to does chores, homework and check on her grandmother

11:30p.m.-Hits the sheets

Even though her day seems hectic, she does it without missing a beat. Sometimes she doesn't even realize the small change in her attitude.

"I often don't think of my attitude change, unless someone else addresses it to me," Peete says.

Like Peete, Latrell Gillespie has a hectic daily schedule. Let's look at a day in the life of this high-school junior:

6:00a.m.- Wakes up and prepares himself for school (shower, clothing and breakfast)

6:50a.m.- Leaves for school

8:00a.m.-School starts

2:28 p.m.- School ends

2:30p.m-3:30p.m.-After school

4:30p.m.-8:30p.m.- Part-time job

9:45p.m.-Arrives at home

10:15p.m.-12a.m.- Homework, chores and sleep

Gillespie's day often becomes very stressful, he says. He often feels like giving up.

"I feel like my back is against the ropes and everything is getting the best of me, but I tell myself I can get through the fight."

Gillespie's notion seems practical, but sometimes we all seem so overwhelmed that we can't just "get through the fight." Sometimes we have to step back and view the whole situation in order to get a new perspective. One thing is for sure that we have to evaluate each day at a time, and the key is time management. After all, we are still teens and we just want to have fun!

Jasmine Rosmon is a student at Best Practice High School.

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