By Brenna Bormann
After three wonderful months of summer vacation, students finally returned to school about a month ago.
Like every school year it probably started out fairly easy, but by this point the majority of clubs and organizations are already in full swing. Gone are the sweet days of no homework and free afternoons, replaced by long classes, hours of homework and running back and forth between multiple activities. With more and more being put onto students’ plates, many are forced to make a few tough decisions about priorities.
As a senior at a local high school, I am taking on more responsibility than I have in the past and am slowly starting to question some of my choices. Currently I am taking three AP classes, an extra math class and two advance classes. At night I am also taking two college classes at the University of Iowa and Kirkwood Community College. On top of my class load I am a member of student council, art club, dance team, student assistance team, National Honor Society, Diocesan Youth Ministry Committee and youth group. In my spare time I work as a waitress and take dance classes at a studio two towns over. I am at school by at least 7 a.m. almost every day and sometimes don’t get home until after 11 p.m. Because I’m so busy I have let certain things slip, and at times it has been hard to make sure one of those things wasn’t church.
It was hard to find time to give my relationship with God all the attention it deserves. Recently I have talked to some of my peers and many of them are having the same problems. With 20 million things on their to-do list, church sometimes slips between the cracks. They go to church on occasion; they’ll pray once in a while and they’ll open up the Bible once in a blue moon. With so many things going on it sometimes seems easier to cut out all church-related activities from our daily routines, but it’s not. By letting Jesus go by the wayside, students remain just as stressed out as before; I remained just as stressed out as before. But I found that if you keep him in your life you could use that relationship as a stress reliever. Every day I plan time to pray and read the Bible between classes or pray while driving. I always feel better afterwards. Those few minutes I spend with God each day give me a little tiny break from all the craziness that is going on in my life, and I would be helpless without it.
I still get stressed out and sometimes am afraid that things won’t get done, but whenever I feel this way I just read Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
High school can be stressful and at one point all of us may take on too much, but all that matters is that we give everything we can to all that we do. All of us will fail at one point, but God gives us the strength to get through it all. Sometimes it seems like our lives are one long balancing act, and sometimes that’s exactly what they are. But as long as we keep our priorities in check we can get through it, and it will only make us stronger.
(Brenna Bormann, 17, is a member of St. Mary Parish in Oxford and attends Clear Creek Amana High School.)
