Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”: a famous quote from The Shining. If this quote describes you, rest assured that you are not alone. The life of the average teenager is actually a lot more stressful than most parents and teachers think. My life is a perfect example. In an average week, we all go to school for five days, and about seven hours each of those days. So let’s do the math, and we go to school roughly 35 hours each and every week. This is almost as much as the 40 hours a week that most full time employees work; so what happens when we add a job onto those 35 hours a week? To put it plainly, we go a little bit crazy. I personally work five days a week almost every single week; typically I work five to six hours every shift. So on top of seven hours a day at school, five hours at work, throw in some time for homework, and I pretty much lose my entire day. I’m not the only person who lives this style of life, either. Many businesses are notorious for hiring young teens to work their businesses; a perfect example of this being the Northern Lights Giant Eagle. Stop in there any day of the week in the evening and I guarantee you will see a fellow student working there. These peers of ours work, go to school, do homework, probably quite a few do a sport or club, and on top of everything try to have some kind of social life. The point I’m trying to get across here is that the life of a student, especially a working student, is not as easy and laid back that a lot of parents and teachers might think. Life can easily get very stressful, and it’s easy to crash and burn. So if you’re a student, just remember to take a Saturday night and have fun with some friends, go to a movie, or even my favorite activity, take a nap. If you’re a parent, think about it next time you say “Do the dishes, you never do anything around here,” and teachers, a little less homework would always be appreciated.