Dear reader,

Every August, something shifts. Not just the weather, but the feeling in the air. Stores fill up with notebooks and pens, alarms start going off earlier, and somewhere between your last swim and first syllabus, summer starts to slip away. Whether you’re a freshman trying to open your locker without looking like you forgot the combo, a junior juggling test prep and burnout, or a senior pretending not to panic every time someone says “college,” one thing is true, starting something new is hard.

The first few weeks of a school year can feel like walking through fog with a map you only kind of understand. Everyone around you seems to be moving toward something or away from something, but it’s hard to tell if you’re on the right path or even if you’re walking fast enough. And despite what Instagram posts or Snapchat stories might make it look like, most of us are just trying our best to keep it together. You’re not the only one.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that about 1 in 3 teens between the ages of 13 and 18 deal with some form of anxiety. The American Psychological Association found that 83% of teens say school is a major source of stress. The transitions, like starting high school, changing friend groups, or entering senior year, are often the hardest part.

But that stress doesn’t always show up in obvious ways. It’s not just breakdowns or tears. Sometimes it’s staying quiet even when you have something to say. Sometimes it’s skipping lunch to finish homework, laughing at jokes that don’t feel are funny, or pretending you’ve got it all under control because everyone else seems like they do.

“School has been stressful enough till tears but at least I have friends who cry with me.“

Piper N, Junior

There’s this quiet pressure in high school to figure it all out fast. Who your friends are. What kind of person you are. What you want to do after graduation. Even what your vibe is. But here’s something no one tells you loud enough. You’re allowed to figure it out as you go.

High school isn’t a place where you show up finished. It’s where you become. And that process is messy. Sometimes it looks like taking a risk and joining something new. Sometimes it looks like losing people you thought would be around forever. And sometimes it just looks like getting through the week.

“This year was my favorite, I had joined yearbook this year and grown to love everything about journalism in this final year. I grew very close to my friends and to new ones as well because I was able to get out of my shell.”

Zarifa Latic, Senior

We don’t talk enough about how lonely new chapters can be. When everyone around you seems settled and confident, it’s easy to feel like you’re the only one starting over. But the truth is, even the people who seem like they have it together feel lost sometimes. A national poll by Challenge Success, a group affiliated with Stanford, found that three out of four high school students said they often or always feel tired, stressed, or overwhelmed. Most said they barely had time to deal with any of it.

Here’s the thing. New chapters are supposed to feel unfamiliar. But that doesn’t mean they’re bad. In fact, some of your biggest turning points will come from these weird, uncomfortable moments. You just have to give yourself the space to grow into them.

That might mean asking for help. It might mean showing up to a club meeting alone, changing a class that isn’t working, or saying “I don’t know” when someone asks what you want to do with your life. It might even mean failing and then showing up again anyway.

Because despite what high school movies and yearbook quotes tell you, growth doesn’t always look glamorous. Sometimes it’s awkward. Sometimes it’s quiet. And sometimes it’s just you, showing up to the third period when you really don’t want to.

“Don’t take everything so seriously because you have your entire life ahead of you.(Except school work because you should take that very seriously.)”

Cameron N, Freshman

So if you’re reading this while thinking about a schedule that still confuses you, stressing that you might be sitting by yourself at lunch, or already wondering if you’re falling behind, stop. Breathe. You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re becoming.

This chapter might not look like what you expected. But maybe it’s exactly what you need.

And if you’re still trying to figure out who you are in all this? You’re in good company. Most of us are.

Love,

Someone who is just as nervous about a new start as you,

Kaylynn Crawford