Brie Arsenault ’29
EE Staff Writer
As the holiday break gets closer, it can be hard to stay focused in school. Everyone is excited for the holiday, and the thought of family gatherings, food, and time off makes it easy to get distracted. Teachers, however, often load us up with tests, projects, and presentations right before the break. This creates a stressful mix of holiday excitement and academic pressure that can be tough to balance.
One of the biggest challenges is preparing for tests while also thinking about the upcoming holiday. It’s hard to study when your mind keeps wandering to plans with family or friends. At the same time, teachers expect us to perform well, so we can’t just ignore the work. This makes the days leading up to the new year feel overwhelming, because we’re trying to split our attention between school responsibilities and holiday distractions.
Projects and presentations add even more pressure. For many different classes there are many different projects before break that are a big chunk of your grade. These tasks take a lot of time and focus, but it’s difficult to give them full attention when the holiday is right around the corner. The result is late nights and extra stress, which can make the break feel less relaxing once it finally arrives.
Overall, the days before any break are some of the hardest of the school year. The excitement of the holiday makes it tough to concentrate, while the heavy workload from tests, projects, and presentations keeps piling up. Even though it’s stressful, it also teaches us how to manage our time and push through distractions. Once the break begins, the hard work feels worth it, and we can finally enjoy the holiday knowing we got everything done.
Photo: Sledding at Beardsley Park; courtesy James Russo www.effstopp.com CC BY-ND 2.0