By Chloe Hsei

Summer break is the time of the year that every student (and probably teacher) looks forward to with a dreamy smile and eyes filled with hope. It is a time of rest and relaxation, friends and fun, hobbies and travel.
Or, at least, that’s what we all want.
However, for sophomores and juniors especially, the reality of their long-anticipated “break” from constant work ends up being filled with summer programs, P.E., Pierce classes, internships, and jobs.
Of course, it’s all optional on paper, but when good grades just aren’t cutting it anymore for competitive college applications, no matter your number of Advanced Placement (AP) classes, finding something to fill up your summer schedule becomes something of a must.
Any International Baccalaureat (IB) student can attest to this fact from the advice they receive from coordinators who stress the importance of finding some sort of meaningful work or volunteering experience during their junior summer break.
“Some teachers constantly remind you that kids all over the country and around the world want to go to the same colleges that you want to go to just as badly,” junior Joydex Soldevilla said. “It’s another thing that adds to the stress of this year when other people remind you of all the different things you need to do to get into college.’”
This required summer grind is the way that things are, but is it the way that things should be? After all, junior year is already the pinnacle of high school stress. If you’re the younger half of the student population, you’ve definitely already heard the upperclassmen’s horror stories.
And if you’re the older half of the student population, you’ve lived through the horror yourself. Junior year is packed with more work than ever before, coupled with more looming pressure, as graduation and college application deadlines approach faster and faster.
It shouldn’t be any surprise then, that so much of the student population is experiencing a prolonged mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion due to prolonged stress.
According to the Center for Digital Thriving study, “Unpacking Grind Culture in American Teens: Pressure, Burnout, and the Role of Social Media,” more than a quarter of teens reported that they were struggling with burnout. Not only that, but when surveyed for where the negative pressures stem from in their lives, it was reported that “53 percent of teens feel pressure to be exceptional and impressive through their achievements (honors classes, good grades, jobs).”
It’s more than the numbers, however, you can see how this manifests in classrooms every day. It’s students with daily cans of energy drinks to stay awake, once-proactive students struggling to find the motivation to study for exams, crying breakdowns or snappish responses between friends.
When summer break, one of the sole times to rest and recharge in the year, becomes just another extension of that pressure, it’s no surprise that burnout is becoming so prevalent among teens.
What I find to be the most frustrating, however, is the contradiction at the heart of it all. We’re told to pursue what we truly love, to explore our options, to take care of our mental health.
Yet a summer spent recharging or exploring hobbies for the sake of enjoyment alone can feel irresponsible and lazy in comparison to one packed with high-stress internships and coursework. Rest has now become an idealized luxury rather than a normal necessity.
This isn’t to say that having a summer of opportunities is an inherently negative thing. For many students looking to further their learning or experiences, programs, jobs, and classes can be genuinely enriching and fulfilling.
The problem arises when these choices stop being choices. When students feel compelled to fill every free moment out of fear of falling behind, the value of those experiences diminishes.
“It feels like every moment I take a break I could be spending it doing something more productive,” Soldevilla said. “Especially when you’re surrounded by amazing and ambitious people. It can be a positive driving force, but it just nags at you when you’re too tired to manage.”
Maybe a break should actually be a break.