I’m scared that in 30 years’ time, I won’t be able to remember my time at high school as being a positive one.
As students, especially high school students, our lives remain entangled with school work, as even out-of-school time is connected to extracurriculars, college, school sports, and homework.
Eventually, our lives slowly stabilize as students fall into routines. This becomes a coping mechanism, making it less mentally straining to be always pumping out work.
While it does serve as a way for students to survive the copious amounts of work they do, it also slowly erodes students’ ability to focus on school beyond the work itself.
According to a national survey conducted by the Yale Emotional Intelligence and Child Study Centers, 75% of students reported a negative school experience. At first, this might not seem like a big deal, but once we realize that most of student life is connected to school, the context changes.
While many consider school work the most important priority in a student’s life at this point, it’s equally important to remember that high school is a unique time in our lives we can only experience once.
As many say, on our deathbeds it’s not the grades or accomplishments we remember, but the memories and experiences we share with loved ones.
Teen leisure time shouldn’t be defined around online short-form media or simply going shopping at the mall. According to an American Psychological Association article, students typically spend five hours a day on their phones.
It’s understandable that as new media and school work turn online, students turn with them; however, this should not necessarily lead to a decrease in more childish play.
Just because we are all getting older shouldn’t mean we need to lose connections to our pasts. Just because students are focused on the future doesn’t mean they should ignore impulsivity.
Often, the newest show or the most urgent homework is the most alluring, yet the biggest impact may come from simply acting on an impulse and deviating from that common routine.
From simply watching shows in a new place in the house, picking up an old book you’ve read before, or opening the curtains that have never moved before, these are all small random actions that can sometimes bring so much new perspective into our lives.
How long has it been since some of us have gone outside, not to go for a run or to do an errand, but to truly see the neighborhood around us? To truly see that old park we used to visit. To stare at the Christmas tree lights before anyone else woke up, before the sun even rose.
According to Dr. Hall’s article posted on Psychology Today, flexible thinking serves as the basis for new creative ideas and understanding.
Rather than spending our Friday afternoons scrolling, we should act on impulse. There’s so much to do, from randomly calling a friend to just visiting a park or even just trying out the new restaurant nearby.
By adding time to our schedules specifically for impulsive leisure, we can make time for reminiscing and creating meaningful memories.
Simply clearing some time in our busy lives allows us to reconnect with our former selves and interrupt the monotonous cycle of just waking up, going to school, eating, and sleeping. At the end of the day, having time for leisure lets us reconnect with our past.
Looking beyond the mental health benefits, it allows us to ground ourselves at our roots and better put our lives into perspective. While routines can provide stability, impulsivity allows us to create new perspectives and outlooks on our high school lives.
