Photo Courtesy of reporter Siena Boscaro.

  The pressures of being the perfect San Luis Obispo High School student continue to rise each year. It seems that every year college selection gets tougher and anyone can get rejected. A lot of students’ only hope is that perfect 4.0, and sometimes that isn’t even enough. 

  Expressions broke these pressures into four main sections: peer pressure, family pressure, school pressure, and internal pressures.

  Through the helpful use of our first type of pressure, peer pressure, students are constantly comparing their grades to those around them. 

  “I feel like I get more pressure from people around me but not because they’re telling me to, but just because the environment is competitive,” said sophomore Christine Seng.

  The second one on the list is pressure from families. Parents tend to over-exert their kids and expect too much out of them. Most parents just want their kids to be happy and don’t even realize that they’re stressing their kids out. 

  “They say they don’t care as long as I try my hardest but in turn that makes me feel pressure to be the best student I can be. My twin brother is super smart and I feel pressure to keep up with him as well,” said senior Lauren Anderson. 

  The third pressure comes from the school itself. School systems push excellence to students with very little support. 

  “It’s not a huge part but that’s definitely part of it. It’s just so that I can get into a good college because they definitely push that on students. But when you think about it, the best thing they can do is give you a little piece of paper that says ‘Congratulations! You got a 4.0!’” said Anderson. 

  The fourth pressure comes from the depths inside students themselves. Kids create this idea of the ‘perfect’ student and feel that they need to achieve up to them, even though in reality they don’t exist. 

  “A lot of students use school for external validation, which in turn hurts them internally when they look for that validation. School should not be stressful and should be more about learning and less about the grade,” said Seng.

While there is no proper way to eliminate these pressures, there are strategies to help reduce them. It’s always okay to ask for help and reach out to people who can support you. Don’t be afraid to strive for that 4.0, but don’t let it take over part of yourself.