When entering high school, each grade level has a label that most students use to characterize how the whole year will go. Freshman year is designated as the year where everyone in the school dislikes you and bullies you. Sophomore year is characterized as the easiest year because you have experience. Senior year is all about senioritis, but what about junior year?

Students have been told by multiple adults and upperclassman that it’s the year where you need to grow up and start making important decisions that determine your future. Juniors become pressured by standardized testing such as the SAT and ACT, multiple homework assignments, college tours and being constantly reminded of the fact that it’s the most important year of their high school career. All of this takes a toll on teenagers’ mental stability, which can ultimately make them more depressed and anxious than previous years.

“Junior year has definitely been the most stressful year of high school so far, and there are lots of memes and Tik Toks I can relate to, but at the same time it’s not as bad as people make it seem,” junior Lindsey Ahn said.

The unsettling reputation that junior year has nationwide is very real. Students should be aware that even though it is a very stressful year, there are positives and people shouldn’t succumb to the pressures and social media posts that depict junior year in an extreme negative light.