Calm down! Whew, let's see. So I didn't have time to study thearea of a triangle last night. How much of the test could beon that topic? It's okay.

Don't think about thatEnglish grade of 64 right now. You need to concentrate. Afterschool I have to work until 8 p.m. When will I do my sciencehomework? Don't think about that now! Concentrate! 2x+y ... Iwonder if Jack has asked anyone to the prom yet. I hope not... Concentrate on math ...

"Please put your pens downand pass your papers forward." Oh no!

Have you ever hada day when everything seems to happen at once? Almost allteenagers experience stress during their high school career. Iknow I have. It can be really hard to do the things you enjoy,try to earn money to do them and do well inschool.

Besides working for good grades, high school is"supposed" to be a time to have fun. You go to the footballgame Friday night and dance until you can't dance anymoreSaturday night. Unfortunately, there is a lot more to highschool than proms and football games. In order to plan for thefuture and look at good colleges, teens need to have an activehigh school career.

The problem is, too many teenagersthink, If I do this, then this college will accept me. Thesestudents try to juggle too many different community and schoolactivities. In the long run their grades are not as good asthey could be because they do not have time to study. If thegoal is to get into a good college, wouldn't it be in yourbest interest to work toward good grades?

My advice toteenagers who feel they are stressed out is to

r-e-l-a-x. Take a break. It's great to play a sportand shows a lot of commitment, but don't let your time beconsumed by too many things. Save some for yourself. Alwaystry to find a time when you can do something that makes youhappy, whether it is reading, watching TV or justthinking.

I find that when I have too much homework ortoo much to think about, the best thing to do is take a breakand talk to someone. It is really great to talk to my mom, mysister or my boyfriend about things other than homework. Ifyou can't talk to someone, writing in a journal is a greatsubstitute. It may be hard to believe, but it can be reallyhelpful to complain on paper. By writing down my worries, Iactually relieve some stress.

Don't worry if life handsyou too many things at once. You will have the rest of yourlife to worry. As teenagers, one privilege we have is to havefun! It's great to have fun in school, but when too manyactivities turn into stress, take a break and RELAX.