Academics, Arts, and Athletics = Piles of Pressure

Senior Dylan Reinhold illustrates the stress that an athlete and AP student feels during the season.
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By Libby Kamrowski, Timberline High School Intern to Thurston Talk

sunset airLittle does the adult population really know about the trials of high school. Surely everyone remembers the slightly-distorted, mildly-exaggerated terror of it all.  But do you know what the microcosm of grades 9-12 is like nowadays?

Not easier than when you were there.

For Timberline senior Dylan Reinhold, the day is only just getting started as the bell rings at two o’clock. Football takes over; with film or weightlifting at 2:15 p.m., followed immediately by field practice from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. From 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Reinhold coaches future Blazers in the Thurston County Youth Football League. Only then is the helmet taken off and the thinking cap put on for two to three hours of nightly homework, for three Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

Senior Dylan Reinhold illustrates the stress that an athlete and AP student feels during the season.
Senior Dylan Reinhold illustrates the stress that an athlete and AP student feels during the season.

“My goal is that the AP classes I take now will count for college credit so I won’t have to deal with them later. I think that learning to manage how stressful my life is will help me later in life because I’ll already have the experience,” Reinhold said.

This far-sighted goal setting is also prevalent in junior Nolan Welch’s plans. “My parents expect me to keep everything moving on my own without asking, so I put the pressure on myself. I know that my future is counting on my work in high school,” he said.

With colleges welcoming record-high application volumes, the narrow niche of acceptance is growing even smaller. Any buffer for applications and career fields is necessary.

Welch’s prelude to college is through heavy involvement in orchestra – both at Timberline and as a member of the Conservatory Orchestra inside Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia. He even attends yearly state Music Educator’s Conferences. He practices the cello on his own for roughly eleven and a half hours weekly – that’s equivalent to the time it takes to watch roughly six movies, all in addition to Saturday morning lessons.

Junior Maggie Taft attempts to juggle the activities of her daily routine including but not limited to varsity cross country, orchestra, The Blazer newspaper, and AP classes.
Junior Maggie Taft attempts to juggle the activities of her daily routine including but not limited to varsity cross country, orchestra, The Blazer newspaper, and AP classes.

Junior Maura Phelps shares a passion for orchestra, is a fellow cellist with Welch, and has an equal dedication to a more-than-full life. Phelps found her calling early-on through the horse hair of the bow and relaxation plucked through the strings.

“I just sit down and play my cello, not to practice, just to play. I go through old music, even though it’s easy.  It’s fun and relaxing,” she said. Phelps has played cello for nine years and is a member of the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia. Both musically and athletically inclined, she is also a part of Timberline choir, the local Puget Sound Slammers Soccer Club, and played JV Blazer soccer in the past.

Not all can handle the hustle and bustle so easily. Unfortunately, Reinhold has been diagnosed with a stress disorder. “I suffer from mild anxiety at times of very high stress. I don’t cope very well. At times I’ll still sit there and make it worse by thinking how much I actually
have to do,” said Reinhold. He can even get physical pain from his stress, proving just how seriously students can take their work. This is an effect that teachers and coaches don’t see. With barriers such as this to success, dedication seems to be fighting itself.

On top of these AP and honors course loads, the question is: how are we, as students so irrevocably involved, expected to handle it all?

“I cope on the weekends- they’re used for sleep and lots of work. I sleep about thirteen hours each night on the weekends, and then catch up on work so the next week isn’t so heavy,” said Chamber Choir veteran and AP-loaded senior Elizabeth McKay. “But that only works if I’m not needed at work or by my family. And I also try to find as much time as possible for friends and that helps to keep me sane,” she shares.

timberline high school
Students at Timberline High School manage the stress of academics and activities in a variety of ways.

The whirlwind of back-to-school seems to have calmed down, but it’s certainly not a breeze.

“Between work and school and then soccer, I take days off and tell myself ‘I don’t need to do this’ and then relax. And the one day relaxes me enough to help set me back into my routine,” said junior Laiya McAtee, who takes mental health days to keep her sanity.

Through music, sleep, relaxation, and days off, attempts to restore balance between the insanity of packed schedules can be reached between work and the expectations of a teenage social life. It isn’t Wall Street, but it is looking ahead to resumes, colleges, and job applications. With such a competitive world in the job market and acceptance to universities, students are thinking ahead to get ahead. Don’t assume that ages 14-18 have it easy.  We know that it only gets harder from here.

In the meantime, we’ll keep our noses to the grindstone, take our mental health days, and look forward to winter break.

 

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