One word I would use to describe high school in 2023 is “hectic.” There are so many things going on, not just in homework and learning in classes alone, but also with having to juggle extracurricular activities and the looming specter of applying to colleges on the horizon. It seems like every day passes at an alarming rate, and some deadline or another is always just ahead. If you aren’t working frantically to tread water, you’ll begin to fall behind. All of these things piling on all at once make high school today an extremely stressful experience.
However, I could also describe high school as “mind-numbingly slow.” It has been crawling forward at a snail’s pace, and after 12 years of straight education, school has started to become a bit dull. In the big picture, we do the same kinds of things every day: wake up early in the morning and drive to school, sit through classes, and then leave school in the afternoon to go home, work or club activities, and eventually burn the midnight oil working through homework. Every day seems to blur together in the long run, and it starts to feel like we’re just doing things for the sake of doing them, never accomplishing anything.
In my opinion, this is the essential contradiction of high school, especially senior year. We’ve been going at it for so long that few among us can even remember a time when we weren’t in school, but things change every year, sometimes even just for the sake of it, making it impossible to fall into a consistent routine. Additionally, although everything is coming at us at a breakneck speed, it seems like after you’re done with one effort, you only have the next big thing to look forward to, ad infinitum. Even though the light at the end of the tunnel is nearly in sight, there’s still so much work to do before we’re finally finished with it all.
The nuance presented between the monotony of school and the “breakneck pace” is compelling and quite relatable, leading to a refreshing read. In the last paragraph one sentence mentions how “things change every year, sometimes for the sake of it.” Maybe giving some examples or elaborating on this might give a better picture. Overall though, the picture presented is quite polished and I appreciate a relatable work.
I thought your explanation of the “essential contradiction” that is High School in 2023 was really thought-provoking. The way you transitioned from each paragraph to the next and eventually to the conclusion was well-planned and engaging.
Had good examples that put the thesis into better perspective and had good metaphors which helped.
I liked how you talked about how the repeated cycle of school for 12 years can make students tired and worn. I personally relate to this statement. Also, the picture perfectly compliments your piece.