Let Kids Be Kids

As I looked at my to-do list, I could not help but bury my face in my heads and let out a pain-ridden sigh. I felt the familiar wave of panic washing over me, I felt tears building up, and each breath I took get tighter and tighter as my list stared me down. This fireball of emotion has been a part of my morning routine daily for the past couple of weeks, and it is not okay. Unfortunately, this story rings true for most students in AP and IB classes, which is really not okay. The pressure we put on high schoolers is unacceptable. We need to lighten the load.

Being a kid is such a priceless and beautiful experience that is ultimately being robbed of due to the pressures put on so many high schoolers. It is no longer enough to just attend high school and get your diploma. Going to college is the new standard, so the application process is more selective now than ever before. It is without question for some colleges that students must take accelerated classes to look academically competitive. Taking the classes that were designed for you is now frowned upon.

Growing up is hard enough already, but being an adult is even more challenging. The world will not end if high schoolers take traditional, non-accelerated high school classes — there will not suddenly be a shortage of educated leaders. The world will not end without A.P. classes. The world will not end if we just let kids be kids.

Gender Reveal Parties are Weird

Maybe it’s from my nonexistent experience of going to a gender reveal party, but parties centered around parents finding out the gender of their child make no sense. 

On one hand, the unborn child that the party is for might not even identify with the gender that the parents are making a big deal out of, essentially making the reveal useless. Even if they do identify with the gender assigned to them at birth, it still doesn’t make sense why the parents need to have a special event for it. Will they celebrate the gender of their baby more if it’s a boy or vice versa? In the end, the parents end up with a baby which of course, is a big deal, but the gender of it simply isn’t to me. 

Not only are these celebrations absurd, but they’ve proven to be very dangerous. The danger posed by gender reveal parties can be seen in the recent El Dorado Fire in California, where more than 22,576 acres have been burned all due to a smoke device used at a gender reveal party. I’ve seen more than enough instances on the news where one of these parties resulted in some kind of disaster. On the extreme side, there has unfortunately been too many deaths caused by something going wrong. 

I can agree that having a child is something that some people will want to celebrate, but the gender of said child? It shouldn’t be relevant- let alone relevant to have a whole party centered around it.

Sleep Schedules

Laying in bed late at night while everyone else is fast asleep, with the only source of light being your phone screen, is its own level of happiness. It amazes me that there are people in the world who do not snooze their alarm at least five times before actually getting out of bed in the morning. The “early bird” lifestyle is just so inconvenient and dull when compared to the midnight adventures of the “night owls.”

Late at night, there’s no one else awake to distract or bother you. This makes it much easier to complete homework, or just laze around and mindlessly scroll through TikTok. The thrill of sneaking around the house looking for a midnight snack never gets old. In the middle of the night, you have the freedom and time to do whatever you want! However, the moment you are jolted awake by the screeches of your alarm, you’re forced to deal with other people, your responsibilities, and real life.