Letter From The Editor
by Samantha Peltrau, Senior, iPreparatory Academy

​We are all responsible for something, or someone, whether we begin our daily chores when we get home or pick up siblings from school. Many students are expected, and try to the best of our ability, to be responsible: we are people who are committed to our duties and fulfill them properly. However, in the pursuit of becoming a responsible student, keeping our grades high, managing deadlines, and jumping through the hurdles in our personal lives, we often deal with burdening challenges and keep the frustration and stress to ourselves. 

If there is a lesson I have learned from the pandemic, the past year-and-a-half, is that the idea of responsibility for myself has become “deeper.” Virtual learning and quarantine taught many of us that our peace of mind, our success, and our relationships with others have become a top priority. ​

University of Illinois Chicago

If you find yourself constantly in conflict with yourself, making sacrifices that take away from your wellbeing in any way, it is your responsibility to reevaluate who you have surrounded yourself with, what you’ve committed yourself to, and how you spend your time. What I learned from taking advanced classes, leading clubs, and altogether managing a demanding schedule is that organization is an important skill you must not underestimate. 

Though I enjoy my classes, job, internship, and clubs, balancing it all became almost unbearable, and so, I developed the following habits/systems to help minimize my stress.

#1 Managing a Calendar​

The most effective change I’ve made by far is staying on top of a Google Calendar. I have multiple calendars-- one for everything. I have a calendar for my personal life where I schedule appointments, add assignment due dates, or remind myself of monthly goals. I have a calendar for every. single. one. of. my. clubs. All of them. I add events, reminders, or tasks daily and it helps me not overschedule myself and visually see my limits. For my fellow try-hards or people-pleasers, it’s easy to say yes to everything without any feasible way to accomplish what you are being asked to do. Managing a calendar(s), physical or virtual, will help you say NO, reschedule, or pass a task on to somebody else. ​

Part of my complete Google Calendar for October

#2 Creating An Agenda​

A rudimentary yet productive change I’ve made is upgrading my TO-DO list. Most of us have simple to-do lists with tasks to check off throughout the day, sometimes littered with notes if on paper. However, I realized that I would forget to do things if I didn’t keep writing them down every time I made a different to-do list. I needed a central document to track what I needed to do on a daily and weekly basis. So I made one, but with a myriad of different colors and fonts to add my personality to a blank page. I kept this document, a “homework calendar”, pinned on my computer, referencing and updating it everyday.

​Others prefer a website called “Notion” which has a similar premise. Think of it as an expansive, all-in-one notebook, diary, and planner. Like OneDrive, you can have multiple pages each for a different purpose, whether you want to store a To-Do list, a cookbook, or personal journal. It’s honestly a great way to keep track of your entire life, though I spent too much time decorating my pages to keep up with it. 

#3 Turn Distractions into Motivators

Assignments that would take my classmates 30 minutes to finish used to take me hours, and I realized this was because I was letting myself get distracted. I would listen to super loud music while doing my homework or multitask on three assignments at once. To curb this, I started listening to soul or classical music while working and rewarded myself after completing the mini-goals I outlined for myself before beginning my homework. 

For example, while studying for AP U.S History, I’d always pair episodes of The Crown with chapters in our Textbook to reach my goals.

#4 Make Time For Everything, and Everyone, Important To You

I used to keep myself unreasonably busy and subsequently miserable in previous school years since I believed that success meant all work and no play. However, that’s just an excuse. An exhausted, burnt out, and excessively stressed student is no help to their classmates nor to themselves. I noticed when writing for scholarships that my degree of self awareness was lacking because I spent so little time in my own company. 

Avoid my mistakes and make time for what matters. For me, that’s annoying my manager and my friends with my horrendous Kalimba musical shows, playing video games, planning outfits I’d never wear, or watching True Crime cooking shows. Enjoy the time you have with yourself, even if it’s only 15 minutes or a 3 minute dance break. And don’t feel guilty if you’re tired, take that 1+ hour break!

Lover's Oath Kalimba Cover by ATIN (the song I'm learning now!)

On the whole, no one is alone in this stressful highschool journey. I’ve learned that adapting to better accomplish your goals can make your everyday life a lot less hectic. That is why I wanted to write about these tips for the #ValuesMatter of the month, #Responsibility. 

Make that jazzy To-Do list ASAP, you’ve got nothing to lose and a lot of organization to possibly earn. All in all, I truly hope to make this year easier than the last, and I do so by taking it week by week, and day by day. That’s all I, we, can do.