by Lily Lomelo
Choosing Advanced Placement (AP) courses at Point Loma High School is a great opportunity to show colleges your capabilities and they’re a great way to challenge yourself. They can help you in college with understanding key course concepts as well as giving you a boost on your GPA. However, biting off more than you can chew can be detrimental to your mental and physical health. The overload of work and tests, not to mention the extremely fast-paced curriculum, can cause you to become extremely anxious and stressed. You need to know your limits and when it’s too much for you to handle.
Many students who are involved in other activities, like sports, clubs, and jobs, end their night as late as 10 P.M. They go home, quickly eat, and then study for hours, usually skipping important hours of sleep. Pulling an all-nighter in order to get your work done is something we probably all have done, but according to the National Health Service consistently poor sleep puts teenagers at risk of serious medical conditions, “including, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes and it shortens your life expectancy.” It can also be a contributing factor to the common cold. Check out this article from last year.
Time management is one of the reasons why we seem to end up with so much work at the end of the night. I know personally that when I get home I like to take a nap, eat, and then watch Netflix. But at the end of the night, I would stay up doing my work very late until I fell asleep way too late. Instead of putting off all of your work until the last second and doing it when you’re tired, get it out of the way first and relax later. Your brain absorbs more information and knowledge when you’re awake than at 3 A.M. in the morning. This is the best way to do it without resenting yourself for watching two seasons of your favorite show. You might even end up with better test scores!
If you feel like you have too much on your plate, considering to drop an AP or honors course could be the right choice for you. Try talking to your teachers to find out which class is a better fit for you if you feel overwhelmed with your current classes. There is no shame in doing what’s right for you!