It’s 10:52 p.m. and I have yet to put my phone down and abandon the tangled mess of the bed I’m currently lying in. I toss my phone to the side and, with an intense groan, sit up, contemplating whether I absolutely need to do my homework or not. I mean, is it really necessary to finish those pre-calc problems or that psych reading when it’s hardly going to affect my grade? Eight minutes passed while I was zoned out. I plug in my phone, shut off my lamp and finally decide it’s not worth my effort.

It’s common knowledge to most students that junior year is classified as the hardest year of a high school career: the year that will push you to the edge. Teachers become the villains of the story and school work has the power to fully drown you in stress. According to the Princeton Review, “17-year-olds have..the largest percent with more than two hours of school work.” But is it really the homework that makes junior year so difficult? Or is it a matter of motivation?

The summer before the start of this school year–my junior year–I was sure the rumors were overly exaggerated and my homework load would be the same as it always was. Now, with the first quarter coming to an end, I realize my hunch wasn’t all that wrong. But, no one prepared me for the fact that my ambition bar would hit a dangerously low -82938%. The problem isn’t the dreadfully long APUSH packet, it’s the fact that last year I would’ve gotten it done no problem, and now I can hardly find enough motivation in my body to pick up a pencil. It’s not that I’m a bad student or that I don’t want to get it done, I just can’t find a good enough reason to prove that the assignment will benefit me in the long run. 

So my advice to all underclassmen and even current juniors is to expect the homework load to be difficult, and more importantly, anticipate a serious drop in motivation. You will need to adapt according to the circumstances and prepare yourself. Put your earbuds in, write lists and cross items off one by one. Do anything but let junior year defeat you.