Drop In anytime

Combating the pressures of student life

Students+can+come+to+the+Drop+In+Center+to+channel+stress+into+coloring.

Grace May

Students can come to the Drop In Center to channel stress into coloring.

It’s no secret that our generation is overwhelmed.

If we’re not up all night studying for a Biology test, trying to figure out how to assemble the innards of an animal cell, then we’re at the soup kitchen for 5 hours.

Finding a balance between the slew of sports we play, the endless AP and honors classes we enroll in, and the recommended eight hours of sleep we’re supposed to get each night can start to feel like performing a circus act.

We have a problem. We’re constantly trying to impress our parents, our teachers, colleges, and even other students by checking to make sure we’re headed in the right direction and always striving for number one.

And it’s never too soon to start thinking about having a Top Choice. We’re practically groomed from birth to want to stand on the stage as the valedictorian of our rigorous college prep high school.

For its part, Carmel starts educating us on the importance of ‘dressing to impress’ universities before we even walk through the doors for freshman orientation.

Stress has its own seat in every classroom.

Carmel has known about the pressures we feel and has done its best to help us manage it. Now, they’re taking strides to help us even more.

The new Drop In Center in the 400 hall aims to give students an outlet to relieve frustration and anxiety and even deal with bigger issues like depression and grief.

Coloring books, soft lighting and comfy couches await those that want a chance to take a load off.

Since the antagonist in many a student’s stress story is the heavy load of classes they take and the demanding teachers that practically pack their backpacks with textbooks each night, the idea of taking time out of those very periods during the day to visit the Drop In Center could actually make their problems worse.

Missing class time can lead to extra makeup work on top of newly assigned homework. Worse yet, missing a quiz or a test would mean a student would have to come in early or stay late to retake whatever it was they missed.

With virtually every minute accounted for and devoted to designated activities, some kids feel they can’t afford to sacrifice any of their time.

This kind of thinking is the entire reason we need the Drop In Center and other things like it.

We are a stressing ourselves out.

While that’s not going to change anytime soon, the best things we can do in the mean time are to try and slow down every now and then and take a deep breath. We need to stop trying to be the best at everything.

Sometimes all we can do is be the best at being us.