Are parents and teachers putting to much pressure on us to join clubs and other extracurriculars?  Are they affecting students mental health? Colleges today seem to be expecting students to have multiple extracurriculars, sports, and volunteering on your transcript.  On average, colleges want you to have five to six activities.

Freshman Emily Pisell participates in German Club, track, takes martial arts and also learns Japanese.

“Yes, I do a lot of things to make my transcript look good, but how else am I supposed to get into a good college?” Pisell said. “You can’t just get in with good grades anymore.”

On average, Pisell has an hour of homework a night, then she practices her martial arts and Japanese.

“It’s really stressful sometimes, all the pressure that everyone puts on you, but it’ll all be worth it in the long run,” Pisell said.  

Freshman Jaden Zelidon has joined the clubs HOSA, Key Club, ASC and more.

“I have joined more activities than I can count, it’s all really stressful because I barely have time for anything else,” Zelidon said. “It may be really stressful at times but it’s also really fun. I just really dislike it when teachers and parents put pressure on me to do things when I already have so much to do.” On average, Zelidon has one to two hours of homework a night. He also participates in sports.

Freshman Paige Bostic is apart of German club, and looks for volunteer opportunities as often as possible.

“Sometimes I feel like I need mental health days, but I’m too afraid because I know I’ll be missing work,” Bostic said. “While school presents it’s own challenges, currently it just acts as another burden to deal with for students on top of family, social, internal  and other struggles.”

As parents and teachers are putting pressure on students to do activities, they don’t realize that it’s affecting their mental health. It is extremely stressful to balance classwork, extracurriculars, social interactions, and family, it takes a toll on students. Encourage students to join things, but do not stress it, as students have many things to do and accomplish on a daily basis.