Spring. A time of rebirth, renewal, and awakening. A time of sweetness, vibrancy, and blossoming. The scent is distinguishable from other seasons: the air seems to come to life with energy, literally, springing into the air.
Arguably the best part of the year, this joyous time is the final step before two months of freedom for students. However, the very reason spring seems so glamorous to some is also why spring seems horrible to others. The desperation for summer— the inability to go on any longer. What truly makes up people’s minds during this time of the year?
“For me, spring is really stressful,” said junior Ari Rosenblum. “I need to keep up with a lot of assignments— more than I can handle.”
An important aspect of spring—school—reflects significance within many students’ minds. Of course, this is the time when finals will take place, and lengthy review sessions followed by countless hours of work overwhelm students.
Sophomore Sophia Li said, “I feel a lot of pressure to maintain my grades and balance my schoolwork with everything else, especially my skating.”
Other students feel more at ease with spring. This can be attributed to less APs or coursework overall.
“I don’t feel stressed at all because I am only taking one AP,” said sophomore Noah Yousefzadeh. “I also feel well prepared for the exam so I don’t see a point in worrying.”
Sports are often intertwined with school, and it can be very hard to manage both at the same time. Li, being a competitive figure skater, has her ups and downs with spring. On one hand, she finally gets to start skating competitively and doing what she loves. On the other hand, she must maintain good grades. Likewise, many other students feel like they have to balance many things at once.
Spring offers new sports for students to try. Some of these sports include baseball, lacrosse, tennis, track, badminton, softball, and even golf. Generally, the season of spring sports is regarded as being “the best season.” The many sports it has to offer encourages students to try new things and oftentimes many students end up trying out.
“This upcoming spring sports season will be an important season for many student athletes at North High because of the sunny, healthy, and encouraging weather,” said sophomore Eliav Sehati.
Others enjoy spring simply because of the many days off from school. Almost one month and a half after December break, February break chimes in with nine days of school being taken off of the calendar. Then, in March-April, five days of spring break take place, with another spring break occurring for 11 more days after that.
“Although I don’t really like spring because of all the tests we have and all the work I need to do, I really like the breaks,” said freshman Joe Zheng. “There are so many breaks it sort of makes up for the amount of work I have.”
Sophomore Noah Yousefzadeh said, “I feel like this week, like other weeks before break, could be quite challenging due to several assessments that I will have.”
In an attempt to get as many tests in as possible, teachers often squeeze many assessments into the week prior to break. This is a recurring problem for many students, especially those who leave for vacation sometime during the week before break officially starts. However, motivation is also given to students during this week, knowing that a long break is upcoming and not too far ahead.
“It feels like things have really started to speed up this quarter academically, but speaking to my friends and socializing makes me feel a lot less stressed,” said sophomore Juliana Dayani.
Like any other time of the year, spring is made up of stressful moments combined with fun. Simply spending time with friends and family may help relieve some of the stress, and hopefully you will truly be able to encapsulate the magnificence of spring and appreciate all the new things, both good and bad, that come with life.
