School Daze

Walking into school at 7:40 AM feels like being forced to sit through an unskippable 30-second ad. The vibe is instantly heavy: someone is speed-running a quiz for AP Chem on zero sleep, someone else is risking in-school suspension by sneaking a peek at their TikTok likes with massive dark circles around their eyes, and your phone buzzes with an Infinite Campus grade alert that makes your stomach instantly drop.

If it feels like everyone around you is running on 1% battery, it’s not just in your head. Almost half of us are locked in a constant loop of stress, anxiety, or pure brain fog. Academic pressure is definitely a factor—83% of high schoolers say grades, exams, and high school apps are ruining their peace—and spending 5 hours a day on the FYP just feeds us a hyper-curated stream of everyone else’s "perfect" lives. For girls, LGBTQ+ classmates, and students of color, the pressure is even higher because society adds extra layers of systemic mess on top of an already exhausting situation.

We try to survive it however we can. Some coping mechanisms actually hit: blasting music on full volume, bed-rotting for an hour after school, gaming, or venting to the group chat. Other habits ain't it—like completely ghosting your assignments until you have a full-blown 2 AM crash out over a Google Doc you haven't even opened.

NJ state has already banned cellphone usage in schools, so lock out of your phone (the algorithm is literally coded to rage-bait you and keep you hooked).