These days, it seems as though everyone is in a rush to grow up.  Societal standards are getting harder to live up to, which causes us to start worrying about our futures faster than any preceding generation.

From a young age, most of us are told that we have to go to school, get a good ACT score, get into a great college, and become successful.

Honestly, I can say that I do not remember the last time I did not compare myself to someone else.

Whether it’s about academics, extracurriculars, or even appearance, most of the time I feel obligated to compare myself to my peers to make sure I am in line with New Trier’s “standards.” We live in a world that emphasizes success.  Quite frankly, our whole culture, especially at New Trier, revolves around competing for success.  It is absolutely bewildering that, today, children are taught to count and read before they can even walk.

I recall that during sophomore year, some of my peers were talking about how they started ACT preparation as early as 5th grade.

The anxiety that engulfs most of the students at New Trier is a major contributor to the stress its students experience.

I was not even thinking about testing going into sophomore year, but when I heard about so many kids already starting their preparation it made me feel like I was falling behind.

This environment of always having someone better than you constantly pressures you to be a better version of yourself.

Most of the time if you ask a senior about which year they thought was the most difficult, they would say junior year.

If someone were to ask me, I would agree, but probably for different reasons… Yes you get more homework junior year, and yes, you have to worry about junior theme.However, to me, there was nothing worse than hearing everybody ask each other about test scores and where they were going to apply to college.

These conversations would come up virtually out of nowhere.  Before you know it, you’re being interrogated about numbers, how many AP’s you are taking, and what you’re going to major in.

I took part in these conversations, but afterwards I felt very nervous, almost inferior.

Looking back on junior year the best advice I can give to any underclassmen is honestly, “you do you.”

It sounds simple, but trying to change your whole perspective on school is much harder than it seems.

At the end of the day, the only thing you need to worry about is yourself.

Aside from academics, New Trier students strongly value how they present themselves and strive to fit in with the latest clothing trends.  Many girls wear makeup on a daily basis and carefully pick out their outfits.  I’m sure that boys also feel the pressure to look their best when they come to school.

If you’re someone who enjoys getting your glam on, by all means go for it. If you’re like me and enjoy wearing casual clothes such as hoodies and sweats, then do it. Do what makes you happy and feel comfortable.  You don’t have to dress a certain way, or buy Stan Smith’s to fit in at our school.

You don’t always need to know everything about everyone. Sometimes being selfish is a good thing.

I’m not telling you to be arrogant junior year and drop all your friends.  All I am saying is just because your peers are in level fours or taking multiple AP’s does not mean that you also need to.

Focus on yourself and do the best that you can do. That’s all you can ask of yourself anyways.  Avoid trying to live up to standards that are unrealistic, and work on setting reasonable goals for yourself without using the success of others to determine them for you.

Just remember to take a minute to breathe, and slow your roll there, tiger.