An 11th grade student at Warde is trapped in a familiar situation. For the past month and a half, Luis has been convincing himself that once the current week ends, things will calm down. “It’s been ‘just get through this week’, but every week,” Luis told the author.
Taking the busy year one week at a time is a common strategy. Even more typical, however, is the automatic response elicited by literally anyone when a student says they are junior in high school. “Ah, junior year. That’s an important year,” said neighbors, former teachers, relatives, family friends, acquaintances, strangers, and one six-year-old.
“It’s funny,” says a senior. “Junior year was awful, but there was a kind of pride that came with drowning in work and getting no sleep. I hated when people ‘complained’ about only getting three hours of sleep, but I also found it kind of impressive, if concerning and annoying.”