Lighten our Load.

We’ve all heard of “peer pressure” and we’ve all been warned of the affects it could have on our lives. But we are never told or warned of “parental pressure.” No that is not a typo! I said, “parental pressure.” I suppose the reason we are not warned of this pressure is because the people that warn us of most things (i.e. parents) are the ones exerting the pressure. In fact there are many different kinds of pressure. Recently I received a “B” in a subject I felt I wasn’t doing that well in so you can imagine when I saw my mark I was overjoyed! When I told my parents they congratulated me and then stated that I should study harder and eventually I would achieve an “A.” Now don’t get me wrong I understand that to do well in life you need to have a good education but we just can’t take all this pressure. This past year, people I know have tried to force me into doing things I don’t want to do for exampledrinking. But each time I have stood my ground and said to myself, “No I don’t want to do this so I am not going to.” When “friends” put pressure on you it can be difficult to say no but it is always possible. You know that they don’t have any real control over you. Whereas when parents put pressure on you it is very hard to find ways to get out of the situation. You can’t very well say, “No I refuse to study.” After all they do have control! They are the ones providing for you. Without them you would be homeless and hungry. You see I think the main problem is they don’t realise that they are putting us under pressure. To them, studying harder to get your “A” seems perfectly reasonable. They seem to forget that we have 10 other subjects to deal with also. This “parental pressure” doesn’t just occur with grades. If a particular parent is good a certain sport the offspring may be pressured into doing well at that sport. This can be worsened if the parent is of a competitive sort. Sometimes parents think that they are helping us with this pressure that they apply. And I won’t deny it. Some pressure can be good. If they didn’t’t bother telling us when we need to work harder how well would we do then? Pressure comes at teens from all angles. From their parents, from their teachers and even from their friends. There is not much we can do about pressure just try and accept it and learn to live with it. Only the people who are putting us under pressure have the power to change things! Parents out there need to cool it. We get enough pressure at school. Home is our refuge! You need to understand that we need rest time. If you see us “lazing around” on the couch or sitting down looking idle don’t jump down our necks and demand that we “turn that TV off,” or “put that magazine away.” Let us rest. We have learned to cope with your pile of pressure. But we still struggle. Please make it easier for us. If we receive a “B” a “C” or even a “D” if we have done our best be happy for us and don’t condemn us to “Two more hours study per night.” Hopefully, someday people will eventually stop pressuring others. Hopefully, friends will accept each other for who they are. Hopefully teachers will give less homework (hint hint!!). Hopefully, people will understand all the pressure we are under and our parents will be kind enough to lighten our load.