As a high school student, I am always tired. Despite the billions of yawns I have throughout the day, I still push through and try to do my best work. However, at the end of the day, I often wind up feeling mediocre. I feel that although I’m smart, there will always be someone smarter- especially in the extremely academically-driven student population of Ladue. When a large majority of students here do sports all year, play instruments, go to a billion clubs, and somehow also get amazing grades, and have time for friends and sleep- it’s quite easy to feel mediocre.

Throughout school I was always told that it’s good to focus on one subject- or to delve into one area that you know you will succeed in. The problem that I face, as well as others do, is that picking said subject is difficult, and even when you do, you might not even be excessively good at it. When I was in middle school, I was amazing at science. My 8th grade teachers begged me to take the advanced science courses in high school, and I felt truly accomplished. Then freshmen year came around- and that was the end of science for me. I was shocked as to how much better my friends were at biology than me, and my lack of self confidence in that environment has changed my stance on what I want to do in life. When students compare themselves to other classmates, as teenagers do, it’s almost inevitable for many to feel inferior to others. This issue has not only affected me, but also plenty of my friends and classmates. Shockingly, even some of the smartest people I know believe that they are mediocre. According to the Do Something Organization, “7 in 10 girls believe that they are not good enough or don’t measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.”

I have had this type of mentality for most of my life, and it is partly due to the American school system. The constant comparison of scores can lead to many students like myself to believe that test results define us. Suddenly an -A is awful, and having a +B is considered grim. No matter how often teachers may remind us that earning a B in a class is above average, Ladue students may still be unsatisfied with their 98 percents. Although this may sound like students here are stuck up- it’s quite the opposite. Most often, students push themselves beyond their breaking point to fulfill their own parents wishes, for college, or even to live up to their own expectations.This mentality turns into a cycle, where being the best is still not good enough for many.

High school is an awfully stressful time for everyone. The number one thing that students who may be doubting their own intelligence and comparing themselves to others should do is to recognize their own self worth. In an secluded society such as a school, it’s easy to get carried away from the actual world. Personally, when I stress over a test grade and feel my heart sink to my stomach once I hear that all my friends did better- obviously, I feel disappointed in myself. These feelings are valid, and everyone has good days and bad days. But the most vital lesson of all to learn from these situations is to understand that despite your score, you are still worthy and it doesn’t define who you are as a person. Even though it is appalling right now, most students go on to wish they never stressed over one test back in sophomore year of high school.