As we officially transition into the spring season, I am once again reminded of the quote, “Beware the ides of March.” Quite frankly, I had never felt a particular connection to this quote up until now.
In Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, this line acts as the foreshadowing of March 15, 44 B.C. when he was quite literally stabbed in the back by his fellow senators. Of course, this is not to say March will undoubtedly be a terrible month for everyone. However in my experience, March over the years has consistently been a month of unpredictable change.
When I was a child, spring was always green. Spring was a new start, with the bare branches of trees gradually showing its first buds of the year. Spring was when the weather was best, and the balmy wind would carry my fleeting worries away. I thought it was beautiful, the way these flowers would finally bloom after hiding its colors all winter. I never really had considered, though, how difficult it was for those flowers to bloom.
Despite only being a sophomore in high school, I have noticed a part of maturing is acknowledging the fact that change is inevitable. March is not quite what it used to be, because now these coming months are anything but a dream. For most high school students, the months of March, April, May and June mean another layer of academic challenge. What seemed like a distant future back then has become a dreaded reality: college decisions, Advanced Placement tests, summer program applications and finals. As the school year comes to an end, students find themselves constantly closing and opening tabs on their computer without an end in sight.
Every time that students take a step forward in academics, their stress levels are impacted real time. Most teens — approximately 34% — have reported that their stress has increased in the past year, and will continue to ride the upward trend in years to come, according to the American Psychological Association. 83% of teens further said that school was their main source of stress, followed by concerns in regards to their future. As lucky as I am to attend Palo Alto High School, one of the top schools in the country, it is no secret that there is immense social and academic pressure to “just do better.” These worries are often paired with a lack of sleep due to intensive college preparation — because many students carry the belief that success in their extracurriculars and academics are what will dictate their futures.
The older we get, the more it begins to dawn on many students that the idea of change can be very intimidating. After all, realizing that a future that once seemed so carefree is anything but can be deeply demoralizing. It makes teens question whether they truly have the correct motivation or determination to keep moving forward.
Even though spring is no longer the beautiful season I yearned for, it is nevertheless a season of growth. The only difference is, I now know what it takes for flowers to bloom. Those branches endured late frost and harsh seasonal transitions for its buds to blossom, and we are no exception. We have learned change is intimidating because we know that it could stab us in the back. Yet as the world around us fluctuates, there simply is no other choice but to move along with those changes. I think sometimes in order to overcome fear of the inevitable, it is best to close your eyes and keep going with the flow. Even if change is not exactly how I used to see it, I hope my springs continue to get a little greener.
