Woah! Junior year is brutal.

Students all around the world have to juggle a lot in their junior year. Heavy course loads, standardized testing, and extracurricular activities (not to mention trying to have a social life) can make it difficult to balance everything.

If you’re a junior, chances are, you’ve been receiving letters, pamphlets, or emails from various colleges, some from schools you haven’t even heard of. Maybe you aren’t exactly sure what to do about the sudden avalanche of emails you are now buried under. On the other hand, maybe you haven’t received any mail at all, and hearing that other students are is making you worry. Whether you are one student or the other – DON’T PANIC.

If you allow yourself to panic, you allow yourself to be open to stress, and stress causes mistakes. If there’s one thing I can be an advocate for, is that stress will never solve or change anything. In most cases, it’ll make everything worse.

Even though these pamphlets or emails seem worthless, colleges could be sending you some cool stuff if you pay attention. These pieces are made to show you what their schools are about and for you to test if they engender any interest.

Spend a few minutes with each piece. Look at the photos, and read the content. Are there programs resonating with you? Do they seem to value the same things you value in your education? If nothing about the school interests you, simply toss it in the trash. But, if a school catches your interest, keep it handy. This way, you’ll already have a great starting point of potential options.

The reality is as a junior in high school, you need to focus mostly on keeping a solid GPA, taking all the required credits for graduation, and scheduling your ACT or SAT exam. While it sounds like a lot of stress and anxiety, everyone does it, and everyone manages to survive.

At the end of the day, we all experience occasional stress…some people more than others. Stress is our body’s way of handling demands that may cause a physical, emotional, or psychological reaction.

As a junior at ILS, trust me when I say getting through it isn’t easy. Underclassmen, be prepared for sleepless nights, stressful days, and lots of procrastinating. However, don’t feel alone; everyone struggles at some point, and stress is very normal although different for one and all.

Be positive and encouraging, but also be realistic. Focus less on numbers and results and instead praise effort. Don’t overextend yourselves or focus on doing things because it will “Look Good” in applications. Colleges are more interested in hearing about what is special about you and what you are passionate about. They want the real you, to evaluate what you can do for said school. Being someone you think you should be, is noticeable and repetitive.

Junior year is filled with so many boxes to check and things to get done. As I write this, I have three assignments due tomorrow I haven’t been able to start, at least one test every day this week, two posters that need to be done in a couple of days that are still blank, and the list goes on. So don’t be like me! Plan ahead, divide your time, and find the space.

Like any other teen, we have struggles outside of school that can make our head feel even more crowded than it already is. It’s important to breathe and remember, YOU WILL GET THROUGH IT.