From a young age, we are brought up to never wish to disappoint our parents. We wonder if they notice how at age 5 we are finally able to carry that jug of milk from the car to the fridge, at age 7 when we can skip across the hall, or at age 13 when we are the winner at the science fair.

As we grow up, despite what we say, we aspire to be like our parents. We want to be adults and have more responsibili- ties. We want to be able to run into the kitchen saying “Hey Mom and

Dad! Look at how well I’m doing with adulthood.”

Our parents mean well by implementing expecta- tions into our lives; they only want the best for us. Most of the time, it is evident that in fact we are the ones who create most of the standards
or expectations because deep down we desire to impress our parents.

But, sometimes it can all feel like too much. As high schoolers we are involved in a lot.

School tells us that best success for a college or career path means meeting a standard for grades.

College and Career applications say you are more qualified with volunteer experience.

The economy says the only way to succeed is to get a good job and work all the time.

We are at that awkward limbo age where we are too old to go on letting our parents pay for everything but too young to work a full-time job while simultaneously attending school.

When all the stress piles up, it’s impossible to understand how we got to this point and how we never know the right thing to do anymore.

We can’t change what this world expects of us, and we can’t go on feeling crushed by all the stress of our routine. There really is only one solution, and this answer isn’t a popular one.

To finally feel released from all these overwhelming expectations, we have to accept them. Stress isn’t going to disappear by ignoring the problem.

And remember, when we are telling ourselves that our parents are disappointed, that our teachers are disappointed, that our employers are disappointed, we can’t control any of that.

We can work hard and do our best, but, in the end, we have to approve of ourselves. After all, we have to live with every choice we make.