Rough draft of editorial

Students are under too much pressure to be prepared for the future in today’s world. Many students, while they should be enjoying opportunities to grow as a person, are concentrating more on financial aid for college, and acing those two AP tests and a physics exam tomorrow. Today’s world is moving way too fast to enjoy the simple things; this is especially effecting our nation’s next generation. The first lady is endorsing a healthier next generation of children, therefore she might want to start with realizing that the students’ in the school system are being overwhelmed with the messages that being too perfect is impossible. Because of this message students dive into their studies, and are strangled in a vast number of co curricular activities. I am in no way, shape or form questioning the validity and importance of academic studies and participation in co curriculars, in moderation. My point, however, is that students are not full grown adults, and won’t be until their mid twenties, and in having to live up to the expectations and demands that the world has for them, it makes it difficult to decipher when something becomes too much. Parents, teachers, friends and colleges tell students that part of being successful and going far in life is hard work, but in society today the definition of that has been revamped to an almost impossible level. The stress levels in school are sky high, and sleep deprivation is now considered a norm, with many students functioning with only 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night. At a vital stage in development in a teenager’s life, they should be getting, on average, 8 to 9 hours of sleep daily. So as healthiness levels depreciate, and expectations and amounts of homework rise, the one would hope that the test scores would also rise as well. However, in most cases, this is not true. If a student has more than 3 hours of homework a night, trying to balance that with a possible job, sports, clubs, friends and family their life comes to mirror that of a juggling act. Overall, in trying to surpass the expectations that the world has set for them, and be prepared for the future, students are totally and completely missing the great opportunities that fill today.