The school year is halfway through and many students already feel the stress of school and their parents consuming them. The pile of homework and continuous activities become a double-edged sword as students find ways to escape stress. These can be healthy release mechanisms like exercise, watching TV shows or planning ahead on assignments, or they can be unhealthy, risky coping mechanisms, such as drinking, smoking, drugs or accessing pornography. As the year goes on, “18% of students will [try] drinking alcohol with a result of 4,300 deaths of teens,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How we release stress depends on how far we want to take it.

The brain reacts to stress with the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that functions as a command center, communicating with the rest of the body through the nervous system, so the person has the energy to fight or flee. The fight-or-flight response is responsible for the outward physical reactions most people associate with stress, including increased heart rate, heightened senses, a deeper intake of oxygen and the rush of adrenaline. According to Harvard Health Publications of Harvard Medical School, a hormone called cortisol is released, which helps to restore the energy lost in the response. When the stressful event is over, cortisol levels fall and the body returns to normal.

When chronic stress is experienced, the body makes more cortisol than it has a chance to release. This is when cortisol and stress can lead to trouble — high levels of cortisol can wear down the brain’s ability to function properly. According to several studies, chronic stress impairs brain function in multiple ways. It can disrupt synapse regulation, which can make people less social and avoidant of others. It can kill brain cells. It can even reduce the size of the brain. According to the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, “Chronic stress has a shrinking effect on the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning. While stress can shrink the prefrontal cortex, it can increase the size of the amygdala, which can make the brain more receptive to stress.” If Boston students inhale an unhealthy amount of stress in the school year, it may take a toll on the way students learn, resulting in a drop in grades and in the relationships they have with others.

A common way students become stressed is through procrastination. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “Procrastination is the action or habit of postponing or putting something off.” This habit not only causes stress but also results in lousy performance on assignments and very poor grades. Elizabeth Green, an adjustment counselor at BC High, suggests that students start with the easiest part of the assignment. “Just [make] sure you start,” she said. And for some kids, try to “chunk the work” — not looking at the “big project” due — but breaking it into smaller steps.

Green also suggests making work a daily habit. “So whether you have a lot of homework on one day or not very much at all...between these hours I’m doing homework.” 

An example of making homework a daily habit is by setting an alarm at 4 p.m., so when the alarm rings, you can start with homework and studying for quizzes and tests. Another example is using a planner to estimate how much time an assignment will take and planning what assignment to start first.

Another way students can relieve stress in a healthy way is through exercise, like taking a walk outside or doing 10 to 20 push-ups. Exercise and other physical activities produce endorphins, chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress. In addition to exercise, meditation and breathing deeply can cause your body to produce endorphins. Some apps to help with meditation include HeadSpace, Calm and SimpleHabit. For other students, taking breaks from homework can release stress. “Take breaks and do something else for a bit,” Graham Owens, a student at Boston Latin School,  recommends. “Also doing something relaxing like playing video games and hanging out with friends [can help].”

Lastly, speaking to someone, like a friend, parent or counselor, may relieve stress. “Friends help me release nervousness and uneasiness,'' says Ethan Motoslavsky, a student at Boston Latin School. Talking to someone is less scientifically proven in relieving stress, but a study conducted by Vanessa Pouthier, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, found that people who emotionally vent in the workplace are more comfortable and pleased to be at work than those who don’t. 

However, other students don’t have access to talking to a trusted parent and instead see their parents as another set of stress. It is important to understand that the parents play a major role in how much stress a student can feel as well. It is critical that parents play a role in helping their children cope with stress.

“Parents can help their children, by reminding where their priorities are,” Green said. “So, parents can prioritize what work is important to them and the values that are important to the family. Parents can also help by reminding their kids that grades aren’t everything.”  

Last October, after nearly 13 years, the Pledge of Allegiance was reinstated at Boston Latin Academy. The recitation of the pledge will now occur daily over the intercom during homeroom. For many BLA students graduating high school in 2020, this patriotic act has not been a daily practice in school for several years. 

At one point in time, it was a tradition that seemed second nature, a subconscious following of a practice. Students would stand in class, place their hands over their hearts and recite the pledge whilst facing the flag in the room. Some students would even go to the main office as a volunteer to recite the pledge, which felt like a big deal, and they were proud to hear their voice over the loudspeakers.

The push to have the pledge reinstated at BLA was initiated by a band of parents who took their concern to the superintendent. Per Massachusetts law, BLA was breaking the law by not having students recite the pledge. Massachusetts General Law Title XII Chapter 71 Section 69 states that every school should have a flag in every classroom and “each teacher at the commencement of the first class of each day in all grades in all public schools shall lead the class in a group recitation of the ‘Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.’” The law also outlines how the pledge is to be recited and consequences for if it is not carried out each day in public schools. 

In 2010, an atheist family sued the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District arguing that “...schools conduct a patriotic exercise that ‘exalts and validates’ one religious view — a belief in God — while marginalizing their ‘religious views’ on atheism and humanism,’” reported Education Week. In the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision, former Chief Justice Roderick Ireland wrote that no Massachusetts student is required by law to recite the pledge. The court also rejected claims that the inclusion of “under God” in the pledge violates “the state equal-protection rights of atheist and humanist students.” This was ruled in a 7-0 vote. 

Jenny Tran, a 17-year-old senior at BLA, chooses not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. “My family is also Buddhist, so I can’t really relate to the ‘under God’ part,” she said. 

Jeffrey Isen, a teacher of 13 years at BLA, says that he hates the Pledge of Allegiance. Isen is an immigrant from Canada and as a child, he would sing the American national anthem. “I remember, as a child from a minority religious group, feeling uncomfortable because the national anthem made a reference to God. And I knew that it wasn’t my God. It wasn’t the God of the religious group that I was a part of at the time,” he said.

This discussion of the pledge and even that of the national anthem have been a topic amongst teenagers and young adults for a long time, even more so with Colin Kapernick’s “take a knee” movement. However, this conversation has not been properly addressed in our schools. Boston teenagers need to know their rights: they can say the pledge — or not say it — and they have the right to express how they feel about it. 

Meagan, a teacher at Boston Arts Academy, quit smoking cigarettes, but she’s still around it a lot. Her dad smoked when she was young, as did her grandfather. Before she started, Meagan was always the person to tell people to “stop wanting to fit in with college peers.” But, by the end of her freshman year of college, her perspective changed. People would move away and give her weird looks when she was smoking at the bus stop — when they would start coughing she would get annoyed. Smoking is “not gonna be the things that kills you,” she said.

Cigarettes are addictive and can cause cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and other health problems. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, there are over 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke and tobacco-related products. More than 70 are known to cause and/or initiate cancer and are called carcinogens. Cigarettes, cigars, and pipes contain dried tobacco leaves along with chemicals and additives. Some, like tar and arsenic acetone, are very dangerous. Even “natural” products, such as herbal cigarettes, give off smoke and tar that contains many of the same chemicals.

Even non-smokers can get sick by inhaling secondary smoke states the Centers for Disease Control. With this in mind, people shouldn’t smoke right next to someone else, especially a minor. I’ve encountered people on the train who sat next to me smelling like cigarettes, even if they aren’t smoking at that very moment. In fact, cigarette smoke can rub off on anyone. Smokers should be mindful and wary about this. 

“Smokers need to be respectful,” Meagan said. She didn't feel that way before, but now she feels bad.

I’ve had an experience with secondary smoke before. One lovely afternoon, my friend and I were sitting at an outside table doing homework as I waited for my work shift to start. Everything was going well until a stench forced its way into my nostrils, causing my survival instincts to emerge from within! Immediately me and my friend covered our noses with our hands, but realized it wasn’t working so we used our sweaters. 

My friend couldn’t stop talking about how bothered he was by it. I had to shush him multiple times because he was speaking loudly and I didn’t want things to get out of hand. We could have moved to another table, but they were all occupied and I wanted to stay near the area where I work. Hoping to still get some homework done, I found that every now and then I would get distracted by the smell. Eventually, I gave up on doing homework and told my pal that I couldn’t stand it anymore so we left.

When I spoke with ninth graders at Boston Arts Academy they felt similarly.

“I don’t really like when people smoke around me because it makes my head hurt,” said Arlynn Varela. “I just don’t like the smell of smoke, so I wouldn’t be happy; I would tell em to put that crap away.” 

No one is stopping you from smoking, but keep in mind the people around you and how you could affect them; whether that be physically or emotionally.

Smoking is an addiction. Meagan smoked for 10 years before stopping at age 28. She had gotten diagnosed with a chronic illness. It was probably not caused by her tobacco used, but the doctor still asked her to stop smoking. She did, but she told me she would probably keep going if it wasn't for her health issue. She tried to quit even before the illness. She was switching back and forth on an “on and off, four-year period.” People started asking if she smoked two or three years ago because they could smell it on her, so she eventually got paranoid and kept perfume and body spray on her at all times. 

People should be allowed to smoke in their backyard, or in public spaces that are specifically designated for smoking, because then non-smokers can enter at their own risk. As Meagan said, it’s “a choice you’re making not the people around you.