It is often rumored that junior year is the hardest year of high school, and what with taking the ACT, the start of IB classes, and beginning the college process, I have to say that I agree. Thus far in my high school career, junior year has certainly proved to be the most challenging. More hours of my week are spent perusing five-page fine print speeches for IB history than watching Netflix, and free time spent with friends has become a rare occurrence. As the year draws to a close and I have almost survived the entirety of junior year (although I’m keeping my fingers crossed, because finals have yet to come), I have been realized a few key things that have helped me make it through my junior year.

As an avid procrastinator, I have a tendency to put off work until the very last minute. Although that strategy was somewhat effective for the first two years of high school, it did not stand the test of a heightened workload and IB classes. About a week into second semester, I started doing my homework right after school, even though it was the absolute last thing I wanted to do after a long day spent in classrooms, and the outcome was just short of miraculous. Even an extra half hour of sleep made a huge difference, and I started to actually feel slightly less stressed about my workload. Although I certainly still get less sleep than the eight hours recommended for high schoolers, being productive with homework is a key aspect of being successful as classes get increasingly work intensive and the material becomes more difficult.

That being said, I discovered that it’s crucial to take breaks. Kate Bartolotta, a journalist for the Huffington post, cites a study that shows that taking a break every hour actually increases productivity. I found that to be true, and extremely conducive to my studying success. Junior year can be an incredibly stressful time, especially when we are inundated with information about how we should always be volunteering more, participating in more clubs, engaging in more extracurriculars and at the same time keeping up and even improving our GPAs. Add that to time spent preparing for the ACT and/or SAT, and the anxiety is at its maximum. There have been numerous nights over the course of this year when I’ve been tempted throw my books, papers, and all other study materials out the window, but I’ve found that taking even a ten minute break can make everything feel more manageable. Whether it’s a short walk around the block or  just laying down for a moment and listening to some Beach House, a break makes everything feel slightly refreshed.

Lastly, the most important thing I’ve learned this year is not to take myself too seriously. While I work my absolute hardest to keep up with all of my work and maintain my GPA, I’ve discovered that it’s essential not to fret the small things.  A B on a ten point math quiz isn’t the end of the world, and certainly won’t determine where we end up in life. Additionally, following things that invoke happiness and passion in you is more important than pursuing classes or activities simply to say you did them. When signing up for classes, I realized that I had options down just because I felt obligated to take them, not because I wanted to. By putting my passions first and not stressing (or at least stressing slightly less) about what would look good on my resume, I was able to enjoy parts of junior year that certainly would have been unpleasant had I done things for the sake of doing them.

That being said, there is no doubt that junior year is difficult. However, it can be beneficial to rise to the challenge, and know that despite the anxiety and stress, it is possible to get through and even potentially enjoyable at times, so long as a balance between productivity and relaxation is maintained.