Junioritis

Asmi Aggarwal

A person walks into a clinic complaining of fatigue, depression, exhaustion, lack of motivation, overwhelm, forgetfulness, procrastination, sleep problems, changes in appetite, irritability, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension and an increased heart rate. There are several conditions that could easily fit this description — all of which any doctor in their right mind would probably have to follow up on. But, to an average high school student, these symptoms point to something far more familiar: junior year.

Junior year has a reputation of being a time where everyone’s lives start to change: sometimes for the better, but a lot of times, for the worse. I believe a part of why many people glorify having unhealthy lifestyle habits and sleep schedules is because they’re often interpreted as signs of hard work — that you care enough about your future to invest extra time and energy into your every endeavor.

For some, that constant state of exhaustion almost becomes a source of pride — proof that they’re pushing themselves to their limits in the name of ambition. But somewhere in that pursuit of excellence, we begin to blur the line between dedication and self-destruction. We start to measure our worth by how tired we are, how many hours we’ve studied or how much we’ve sacrificed.

No matter how many times our teachers or parents tell us that “comparison is the thief of joy,” the reality is that it will never stop following us. It becomes a constant background noise present in the grades we get, our conversations about college and quiet rivalries within our arts. Of course, productivity does equal progress and a healthy amount of competition definitely drives us to be better, but the truth is that a lot of times, we begin to lose ourselves somewhere in the process of trying to keep up.

The next time you wake up and catch your reflection in the bathroom mirror, take a second to imagine what your younger self would think of you now. Think back to when you weren’t caught up in this whirlwind of pressure, when your life felt more about curiosity than fear. Remember the spark that drove you, the "why" behind your every passion, every choice and every dream. Growing up isn’t just about checking off deadlines or collecting achievements; success means nothing if you forget who you truly are in the process.

So to my fellow juniors, I promise you that colleges don’t want a version of you that’s just trying to fit a mold. They already have hundreds of thousands of applicants with 4.0 GPAs, 5s on every AP exam and perfect scores on standardized tests. If you keep doing what makes you happy, you won’t have to worry about the future. Your uniqueness will shine through and, one way or another, you’ll end up exactly where you’re meant to be. Junior year is a reminder that while our choices now do matter, they’re not the end of our stories. There’s still time to change, rest and rediscover what brings us joy.

In the end, the real cure for junioritis isn’t something that you’d be able to find at your local CVS. It’s not about painfully working through the pressure, but about giving yourself permission to slow down and remember that you are more than just what you accomplish.

I’m proud of you.