Last year, things were different. For starters, no one was vaccinated. So obviously, COVID was running rampant. We had a different schedule – only four classes a day, mask breaks, longer lunch, and advisory every day. I think everyone enjoyed that school took a slower schedule compared to the crazy and stressful pace of the outside world. But now, we live in the “post-pandemic” era. That’s dumb. We’re arguably more entrenched in the pandemic than we’ve ever been: we have a vaccine that doesn’t always work, an entire Greek alphabet of variants, and not as much hope for a finite end to the pandemic as we did last year. But a “post-pandemic” world means restrictions lifted, and normal life coming back: even though we’re just as stressed and still masked (and hopefully washing our hands).
This year has felt… frenetic. Whether it be switching from one class to another in 45 minutes, having 6 classes worth of homework as opposed to 4, or being expected to compete academically all while staying on top of volunteering, sports, extracurriculars, and maintaining a job, I’m exhausted. At first, I thought it was just me. But as I began to talk to my classmates, even the ones I consider leagues smarter and more tenacious than me, I realized that I was far from alone. We are drowning. Part of this is normal high school stress, of course. But we’re also not living through normal high school years. When in recent history have students been worried about bringing a deadly virus home to immunocompromised parents? Or thinking about ‘if’ something we’re looking forward to is going to happen, and not when? And through all that dealing with cancellations, restrictions, and a terrifying world surrounding our little BGA bubble. We’re living through normal high school stress in a time where the stress outside and even in high school is far from normal. Our activity from the Social Institute this past Thursday was ‘Handle the Pressure’. But handling pressure may not be our top priority right now – maybe we just need to release it altogether. Now, don’t get me wrong: pressure is good. When you put pressure on coal, it makes a diamond. But too much pressure, and something with the potential to be beautiful turns to dust.
We go to BGA because we care. We care about our grades, the score of the game, the applause at the end of the play, the trophy we receive, and we care about being the best at, well, pretty much everything. But there’s another reason we go to BGA which sometimes gets lost, but is ever-present in the pulse of our community: we’re pretty good about caring for each other. That’s the stuff maybe not seen in a press release, or during the announcements during assembly. That’s seen in Ms. Cornett’s room at any given moment, when you can find dozens of kids eating, ranting, and going to her for emotional support. That’s seen on Ms. Dillard’s wall, with the pictures of her students placed proudly as though they were her own kids. It’s seen in the way Campbell makes sure that EVERYONE comes to the football game, and in the way Trace and Will celebrate when the freshmen in the student section actually remember that we do each cheer three times. It’s the support shared in Prism and the Students of Color group. It’s seen in the entire school collectively pausing their day to spam the Tennesean’s website to make sure that Sean wins Athlete of the Week. It’s the friend picking up your books, stranger holding the door for you, or teacher who so fully believes in you (even though you’re not sure why) that is truly the spirit of BGA. At the end of the day, I don’t think the thing I’ll remember at BGA will be any exact moment. It’s going to be the collective, little moments that made me feel like I had a community behind me. Let’s use this BGA community not as a microcosm of our outside stress, but rather as a collective reprieve from the stress of the outside world.
I don’t really have a solution to our crisis. I don’t know if it’s ending the pandemic (which, sadly, I can’t do – maybe Dr. Bonner can though), changing our schedule (once again, out of my control), or just taking a communal deep breath. But part of this can be helped by caring about each other. Let’s make BGA the best at caring for its students, teachers, and community. We’re a bunch of 14-18 year olds living in the global hotspot for a pandemic and dealing with things that we’re not supposed to have to deal with. Let me repeat: This. Is. Not. Normal. The fact that you’ve made it through this past year, and woken up with the determination to come to school, learn, and excel means that you are stronger than you ever thought you were. Care for yourself, and care for the people around you. And when you’re exhausted, and you’re questioning if you can handle everything being thrown at you?
You can.
You wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t.
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