Every individual who has graduated high school has rendered through it. Every teacher, every well educated citizen has withstood the tortures that it brings. For ten months, a student must combat through one of the worst years of his life. We all can relate to this even as if it were a rubber band, a band that stretches and is put under pressure in order to do its job. What devilish time do I speak of? It is the junior year of high school, the one time that would make the devil squirm in his shoes. A student is both physically and mentally bent in many ways, just like a rubber band.

College plans, sports, work and family are some of the many events a junior must balance while attending high school. Each particular event bends and twists a student’s mindset until one of two results occurs. Many times a student will become perplexed with all of the overwhelming ideas and principles taught by their teachers, they become overloaded with information and the student breaks down. He starts to questions whether it is really worth it to skip out on weekend plans to work on a science project and begins to lean to the lethargic side. The second result is the student must substitute time for all of their studies that they live, drink, eat and even breathe knowledge, having no time for any social events. Instead of going to the exciting, heart-pounding school event such as a football game, the student stays home slaving away at their algebra book hoping that someday, al of this confusing information will someday magically “click” for them.

As students overcome many of the obstacles junior year tends to throw at them, they are being stretched and pulled in some sort of manner. The amount of stress put upon the student is varied. Pulls and stretches could come from the pressure of keeping an “A” average, or getting focus for the big rivalry game next Friday. Pressure is defined as “the exertion of force from one object to another” meaning it either could push a student to perform better or push him too far. Sometimes having some pressure from school is good because it will make them focus on one subject better.

It is like a rubber band that holds your pencils together in your locker or desk. Each item that is placed into the rubber band makes it stretch to fit the desired shape. Now the objects can vary from just one measly pencil or to an entire 24-pack of markers. Even though the pressure being applied is minimal, it is still applying some type of pressure onto the rubber band, while a girlfriend can equal an entire case of pencils! Once the rubber band is overloaded with so many objects a slight tear can result in the band, the tear is permanent and can never be fixed. Once it snaps, consequences can be devastating towards the student’s future, parents, and even life itself.

As one of the warriors of the junior year, I am very much aware of all of the struggles a student faces while battling a battle that can never be won. The only thing I can do is hold up as much as I can before my ultimate fate hits me. I have seen many of my fellow classmates snap under the pressure provided by junior teachers. So I tell the future juniors of the world to be prepared for the most hellish year that everyone knows as 11th grade, and while the sophomores and freshmen revive from the delicate wears and tears that their previous years apply to them. All I can do is sit back and laugh because I know that the minute they walk into their first junior class, a huge pack of pens is about to be thrusted into their puny rubber bands.