Stress - Isabel Jenkins

Although I'd like to say I'm pretty laid-back about school, I know that's not always true. I might not pay the most attention during every class, and I might not turn in every assignment exactly on time, but in the end things usually work out. However, this year I was faced with the daunting task of AP Physics. Leading up to this year it hadn't been difficult for me to achieve good grades, but this class was... different than any other class I've had, to say the least. I feel like if you do the homework and focus on the lesson you should at least be able to get a C or B on a test. Yet I found myself with a 0/50 (YES! A 0%!) on an unfortunate three-question exam. Also, for some unknown reason, I'm hyper-sensitive to certain sounds - like I find it nearly impossible to focus even on simple tasks if someone is loudly chewing gum beside me. It's weird, but it's a major source of frustration.

While I know certain things are out of my control, I can't help but feel stressed in these situations. So when I'm aggravated about grades and people and school, I try to take a step back and realize the big picture. Even if do get a poor grade, I'll still get into college and probably still be successful. And I'll always have to deal with difficult people, but in college I'll have tons of new people to interact with. If that doesn't work, I might hang out with friends and gripe to them. It's always surprising how many people relate, or say "YES! I feel the same way!" But if no one's free, I distract myself with other activities I like, such as cooking obnoxious health food, doodling on the violin, attempting to use my mom's camera, listening to music really loud, and binge-watching on netflix.