A person entering high school is vastly different than the same person leaving high school. Along with the character development a student undergoes, their stress and anxieties evolve and develop as well. The anxiety experienced by a freshman can be entirely different from the stress that a senior in high school experiences.

Stress can derive from various forms of anxiety: social, emotional, and academic.  These different branches of stress are all remarkably dissimilar, yet each can weigh and have the same profound effect on a student.

New research from the American Psychological Association shows that “Teens’ average stress level was 5.8 out of 10 during the school year and 4.6 in the past month — the survey was taken in August. Adults reported average levels of 5.1 in the past month.”

This quote exemplifies that teens are becoming only becoming more burdened with their futures as their high school career matures.

For instance, the stress burdening a ninth grader entering high school can range from finding the right group of friends, to being able to learn new study habits that accommodate high school’s higher standards. However, a senior’s stress can range from worrying about relationships they will have to leave behind once high school is over, to getting into a good college or even a career.

Freshmen beginning high school often enter with a certain initial excitement and motivation to begin a new chapter in their lives, but for many, after a couple of months, this newfound motivation and excitement can begin to wear off.

When asked about how students view high school as a freshman after becoming comfortable and acclimated, high school senior, Elizabeth Ray, said, “It became difficult maintaining study skills and persevering through long weeks. It also challenged my ability to handle multiple extracurricular with my academics, but as time went on, it only helped me strengthen and ultimately hone those skills.”

Although high school can present challenges, it can also help individuals master and practice their skills that they previously had difficulty with.

Senior year, however, presents an entirely new form of anxiety; one often consumed by the thoughts of the future. Decisions pondered such as choice of college, career, major, living space, etc.

When inquired about how the stress of senior year differed than that of freshman year, Athens Drive Senior Madeline Bromley said, “ Senior year is great because I’m surrounded by a great group of friends, and even though I’m committed to a college I stress nonetheless about my major, what career I want to go into, and what clubs and extracurriculars I want to involve myself with.”

This statement further illustrates the various forms of decision-making and anxiety inducing decisions high school students are faced with on a daily basis.

Freshman and senior year are the beginning and end of an influential chapter in a student’s life. Not only does an individual develop themselves as a person, but they also develop and have to learn how to balance their new stresses in their life.