By: Arianna Alvarez, Staff Writer
The new calendar year may have just started, but for students who are in the middle of their school year, time seems to have taken on a different meaning. For many, the year isn’t marked by the differing weather or by a cycle of January through December. It simply starts in August and ends in May; it is tracked by semesters, changing seasons mark different sports teams to join or cheer on, dances and rallies are always reliable high points, and of course, biyearly finals are always there to ensure we don’t have too much fun. All of the excitement and celebrations of New Year’s Eve can’t compare to those of that last dismissal bell in May.
At Mills, high schoolers have completed many repetitive August through May cycles, and have come to know what to expect as the school year passes. Brief conversations with students have resulted in a very clear pattern when it comes to their favorite and least favorite months.
Julia Xia (11), a Junior here at Mills High, has shared that December is the hardest month for her to get through. She said, “Preparing for finals is very stressful but besides that, the whole month of December feels rushed with classes trying to finish off their lessons while trying to find time to review. It’s also difficult to enjoy the winter break if teachers don’t release grades in Canvas before it closes.” She turns to her friends to get through the month as they help her forget about all the stress. Xia’s favorite parts of the school year are the months of February, March, and April. “For me, these three months are usually stress-free and easy since I’ve gotten used to everything and the weather is nice.”
While interviewing a couple of students, I noticed that most of them said the worst times of the year are the months of finals. I have to agree with them, it seems like everything moves quickly during those months, and there’s a lot of stress involved in juggling several assignments while attempting to prepare for exams.
Yet some students have differing opinions. The worst months of the school year, according to Amelia Naughten (10), are March and April. Although there is still a long way to go until summer, she claimed that this is the worst time of the school year because it feels so near. She shared, “It can be a little discouraging at times, almost like this sense of drawn-out expectation.” Naughten also turns to her friends to help her through these days, claiming having them around adds interest to the routine of coursework and classes. She also finds distractions in clubs and extracurricular activities when she feels like time is passing slowly.
Students commonly turn to extracurriculars for amusement. Student athlete Nagham Masarweh (12) explains, “I’m on the girls’ varsity soccer team and the highlight of my school year is always the winter sports season. I’ve made a lot of memories on the field with my friends and teammates, my year would be incomplete without my time with them.”
As a Senior, Valerie Gutierrez (12) has stated, “The months of November and December are particularly challenging due to college applications and final exams.” Knowing that she will have a lengthy two-week break after being stressed out helps her get through these two months.
Ameena Stringer (11), a Junior, claimed that April and May of her sophomore year in particular were the most difficult of her high school years so far. She identified a disconnect between teachers’ expectations and students’ abilities as a stressor for her. Knowing that her Junior year would be different from her sophomore year helped her carry on through the year.
Opinions seem to vary through the grades. In my opinion, since freshman year for graduates of 2024 was taught virtually, my sophomore year – which we completed following the pandemic – was also the hardest for me. It was challenging to adjust to high school since it was essentially our first year of high school socially yet second year academically.
Many of the students I spoke with gave similar answers regarding the high points and low points of the school year. Most agree that the worst times of the school year are the months of December and May because this is when final exams occur, or other months in which they felt the workload is overwhelming. Breaks, extracurriculars, and friends seem to be both seasonal and year long reliances for students to persevere through the tougher months.
