Lauren Furno ’18 has struggled with the stress that comes with the everyday life of a high school student for quite some time- now more than ever. This is something that, unfortunately, many can relate to as the pressure of balancing academics and maintaining relationships looms. A majority of the student population is simply overwhelmed with all that is being thrown at them and have no idea how to keep their heads above the water. Stress is a constant struggle that Lauren has to deal with and while it still affects her, she is striving to find ways to lessen its grip on her life.
Stress is known to vary from person to person. Moreover, just as stress varies, people also have various ways to cope and manage it. “Different people have lots of different ways to deal with it. Some read books, others watch movies; but my personal escape from reality is definitely music,” Lauren said.
Another thing that students especially struggle with is living up to the expectations of others. Lauren is no exception and has been exposed to a lot of negativity in her school years. “I’ve learned to not let the negative criticism get to me. If someone takes time out of their day just to put you down, then the person with the true problem is them; not you,” she expressed. Something to think about, as there is a fine line between constructive and negative criticism.
In conclusion, Lauren gives some advice to her fellow classmates: “Always surround yourself with people who you want to be like. Never let yourself fall into the wrong crowd, because it’s extremely hard to escape that type of influence,” Lauren stated somberly. “One thing I really regret was the times where I became really unmotivated with school because of who I was ‘friends’ with, and I didn’t try as hard as I could have. That is something that I can’t take back, or redo. Why live with regrets you could’ve prevented?” she finished.
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