By Itzel Hernandez
The constant reminder of my mother’s words echo in my head every single day. “Your future depends on it.” The weight of the pressure that is put on me is slowly wearing me down. As I look down on the piles of papers in front of me, I remember this is what my future is depending on.
As a child, my mom grew up in a poverty stricken household which prevented her from doing many things. By living in poverty, my mom could not pursue her dream of obtaining an education. Although she was able to get support from her mother, by encouraging her and her nine other siblings, my mother was not able to obtain any of those opportunities. Not only was that a factor in her situation but also the fact that her mother providing for nine kids was hard enough. My mom being the oldest needed to help my grandma with everything. So her being absent in that sense would create problems for her.
“My mom wanted us to succeed because she wasn’t able to go to school and get her education of any kind….money was definitely a problem and I wasn’t able to finish my education.”
Studies show that poverty can result in a lack of education in children. According to Sofia Peltola, as stated in “How does poverty hinder education in Mexico?” from GHD Blog and News: “[T]here are many poor families who have a difficulty in affording the necessary material. The poor parents face also indirect costs when sending a child to school because they usually lose a source of labor.”
This ultimately influenced my mom wanting to provide me with the opportunities that she didn’t get when she was a kid.
“Living in a poverty driven household, I wasn’t able to pursue my studies, but I have hope you will by living here.” Having the privilege to live here and get a hold of many opportunities, such as school, is a huge deal to my mother and I.
Going to school and having good grades is something I take seriously, and my mom holds high expectations in my academics. Although it is in a good nature, it does put pressure on me to fit in-- that mold my mom wants me to be in. My mom hopes that by me being a good role model to my younger siblings they, will also follow the same path and understand the importance of education.
“...Be a good role model for your siblings..I want you to be the first in our family to have an education and career,” my mother says. “I want your siblings to be influenced by you and your good decisions. By seeing you pursue education and obtaining a good career they will see the good in all of this.”
Not only is my mom expecting excellence from me, but all my family is as well. Everyone’s eyes are on me after all I am the first ever person to pursue a higher education in my family. So, if I were to fail in my academic aspects, I wouldn't only disappoint my mom but my whole family too.
“I would feel disappointed and sad because I put all my hope on you...to me you are a mold to follow…”
I'm not the only person to fall through this dark void; there are many students feeling the same way. It seems to be this phenomenon is widespread and other high school students experience this. This affects the students by making them think more about the overall score and grade rather than the knowledge they are obtaining.
According to Amelia Turnquist, as stated in “Students Under Too Much Academic Pressure” from The Scroll, a student news site of Sunsite High school, “...as a result of this pressure, students begin to think of themselves as nothing more than a test score, and they lose sight of the actual purpose of school: to learn.”
Current high school student Jazmine Basa finds herself victim to academic pressure in her life as well. When asked if she felt pressured academically, Jasmine responded, “Yes...since the work industry is competitive in a capitalist country, I fear that I might fall behind in the future. I often spend a lot of time studying, finishing homework or doing homework advance, and get depressed when I get a bad grade.”
When Jazmine Basa was asked how would her parents and her feel after failing these expectations she responded, “My parents would most likely feel disappointed, which would make me sad and annoyed with myself. It would make me feel inferior to everyone else.”
This shows us how us students fear failing all these expectations on us because we would be disappointing our parents and, at points, even ourselves for not doing better.
Putting all your energy and time into doing good academically is not easy and often comes with a price. Being pushed to your limits and feeling pressured all the time can lead to stress, anxiety, and in extreme cases depression.
One of the most significant effects that occur when being pressured is stress, specifically chronic stress. The American Institution of Stress defines chronic stress as the stress that tends to be ignored or put down because people think it is unimportant. But eventually this chronic stress can have devastating effects such as depression. It is said to be the cost of daily living and to students that is school life.
According to MentalHelp.net, “Byproducts of stress hormones can act as sedatives (chemical substances which cause us to become calm or fatigued). When such hormone byproducts occur in large amounts (which will happen under conditions of chronic stress), they may contribute to a sustained feeling of low energy or depression.”
Jazmine Basa shared the effects that academic pressure has on her: “The pressure is one of the main causes of my depression, anxiety, and stress. The work & constant studying prevents me from having fun without stressing over work.”
According to NYU, ”There is growing awareness that many subgroups of youth experience high levels of chronic stress, to the extent that it impedes their abilities to succeed academically, compromises their mental health functioning, and fosters risk behavior.”
Students, including myself and Jazmine Basa, experience pressure with academics and this could have drastic effects on them. This issue is not within with just one person but many others as well and should not go unnoticed.
The constant reminder of my mother’s words echo in my head every single day. “Your future depends on it.” The weight of the pressure that is put on me is slowly wearing me down. As I look down on the piles of papers in front of me, I remember this is what my future is depending on.
As a child, my mom grew up in a poverty stricken household which prevented her from doing many things. By living in poverty, my mom could not pursue her dream of obtaining an education. Although she was able to get support from her mother, by encouraging her and her nine other siblings, my mother was not able to obtain any of those opportunities. Not only was that a factor in her situation but also the fact that her mother providing for nine kids was hard enough. My mom being the oldest needed to help my grandma with everything. So her being absent in that sense would create problems for her.
“My mom wanted us to succeed because she wasn’t able to go to school and get her education of any kind….money was definitely a problem and I wasn’t able to finish my education.”
Studies show that poverty can result in a lack of education in children. According to Sofia Peltola, as stated in “How does poverty hinder education in Mexico?” from GHD Blog and News: “[T]here are many poor families who have a difficulty in affording the necessary material. The poor parents face also indirect costs when sending a child to school because they usually lose a source of labor.”
This ultimately influenced my mom wanting to provide me with the opportunities that she didn’t get when she was a kid.
“Living in a poverty driven household, I wasn’t able to pursue my studies, but I have hope you will by living here.” Having the privilege to live here and get a hold of many opportunities, such as school, is a huge deal to my mother and I.
Going to school and having good grades is something I take seriously, and my mom holds high expectations in my academics. Although it is in a good nature, it does put pressure on me to fit in-- that mold my mom wants me to be in. My mom hopes that by me being a good role model to my younger siblings they, will also follow the same path and understand the importance of education.
“...Be a good role model for your siblings..I want you to be the first in our family to have an education and career,” my mother says. “I want your siblings to be influenced by you and your good decisions. By seeing you pursue education and obtaining a good career they will see the good in all of this.”
Not only is my mom expecting excellence from me, but all my family is as well. Everyone’s eyes are on me after all I am the first ever person to pursue a higher education in my family. So, if I were to fail in my academic aspects, I wouldn't only disappoint my mom but my whole family too.
“I would feel disappointed and sad because I put all my hope on you...to me you are a mold to follow…”
I'm not the only person to fall through this dark void; there are many students feeling the same way. It seems to be this phenomenon is widespread and other high school students experience this. This affects the students by making them think more about the overall score and grade rather than the knowledge they are obtaining.
According to Amelia Turnquist, as stated in “Students Under Too Much Academic Pressure” from The Scroll, a student news site of Sunsite High school, “...as a result of this pressure, students begin to think of themselves as nothing more than a test score, and they lose sight of the actual purpose of school: to learn.”
Current high school student Jazmine Basa finds herself victim to academic pressure in her life as well. When asked if she felt pressured academically, Jasmine responded, “Yes...since the work industry is competitive in a capitalist country, I fear that I might fall behind in the future. I often spend a lot of time studying, finishing homework or doing homework advance, and get depressed when I get a bad grade.”
When Jazmine Basa was asked how would her parents and her feel after failing these expectations she responded, “My parents would most likely feel disappointed, which would make me sad and annoyed with myself. It would make me feel inferior to everyone else.”
This shows us how us students fear failing all these expectations on us because we would be disappointing our parents and, at points, even ourselves for not doing better.
Putting all your energy and time into doing good academically is not easy and often comes with a price. Being pushed to your limits and feeling pressured all the time can lead to stress, anxiety, and in extreme cases depression.
One of the most significant effects that occur when being pressured is stress, specifically chronic stress. The American Institution of Stress defines chronic stress as the stress that tends to be ignored or put down because people think it is unimportant. But eventually this chronic stress can have devastating effects such as depression. It is said to be the cost of daily living and to students that is school life.
According to MentalHelp.net, “Byproducts of stress hormones can act as sedatives (chemical substances which cause us to become calm or fatigued). When such hormone byproducts occur in large amounts (which will happen under conditions of chronic stress), they may contribute to a sustained feeling of low energy or depression.”
Jazmine Basa shared the effects that academic pressure has on her: “The pressure is one of the main causes of my depression, anxiety, and stress. The work & constant studying prevents me from having fun without stressing over work.”
According to NYU, ”There is growing awareness that many subgroups of youth experience high levels of chronic stress, to the extent that it impedes their abilities to succeed academically, compromises their mental health functioning, and fosters risk behavior.”
Students, including myself and Jazmine Basa, experience pressure with academics and this could have drastic effects on them. This issue is not within with just one person but many others as well and should not go unnoticed.