By Erin Sellers

I have a new resolution that can’t wait until January. I will stop complaining about stress, or causing myself unnecessary duress…right after this article extensively dwells on it.

Like the average STA girl, I have a long list of things stressing my life. But it doesn’t do anyone good to sit around complaining, when I could take steps to minimize the pressure I’m feeling. So this is a pledge to place responsibility and the solution to decompressing where it has always been: on me.

My first step is rejecting the common belief I once subscribed to that every grade counts; every quiz, five point assignment, or participation credit will make or break my grades. I’m won’t stop studying or doing homework, but when I receive a dis-satisfactory grade, I will let myself be disappointed, and then I will move on. I will consider what I can improve on the next test or assignment. Note: between drafts on this story I tested this theory. Believe it or not, it felt great not wallowing in self-pity or regaling my friends on The Unfair Test that Went Poorly.

Step two: I will not blame teachers for all my stress. Because guess what? We all knew a test was eventually coming. Surprise! We attend a college preparatory school and our teachers have to test us over so much material in so many weeks. How dare they not have my schedule memorized and know their classes are clashing with each other? In college, people are going to care even less. Instead of whining over my week, I will study for the test I knew was coming.

My next step involves “the bigger picture.” My GPA may be important to colleges, but schools also want to know there is a personality behind the numbers. Traits like discipline, grit, and integrity matter more in the long run and in the real world. I’m breaking up with Powerschool.

Finally, I will appreciate those around me, and do things I’ll actually want to remember in several years. Before I martyr myself on the weekends or during week nights I will ask myself a question like: Would I rather tell my kids about how I studied constantly and got awesome grades, or would I rather tell them about the time I skipped studying to go coning with my friends and still did fine in school? Or: Should I stay up until 3:00am, to study information my brain won’t remember very well, and create a sleep deprived cycle that will haunt me for the rest of the week, or should I put the book down and get some sleep?

I won’t have cram sessions during activity period; I will eat, talk and laugh with my friends. Being happy and stress free matters. I’ll still talk about being busy, but I will realize everyone is just as stressed as me and there is something I can do about it. So from now on if you hear me complaining around campus, I give you full permission to politely poke or savagely shove me as a reminder of my resolution.