"School is my belle dame sans merci, whom, as much as I may dislike for harming my mental and physical health, relationships and for halting my progress as far as my aspirations and interests go, I would doubtless be reluctant to part ways with until my dying breath, or at least until I graduate." (source: Pixabay)
By Alexandra Hudáková
Ms. Hudáková won first place in the C category in the LEAF Academy Essay Competition. She chose the topic "If you could remove one stress factor in your life, what would it be and how would your life be better without it?". She studies at the Gymnázium Park mládeže 5 grammar school in Košice-Sever, eastern Slovakia.
As a student who has maintained a perfect straight A’s report for over twelve years now, having set aside a countless variety of things to prioritize my scholastic duties and adhere to the established academic standards, I can confidently say that throughout the time I have spent on this planet thus far, there has been no struggle, no anxiety-inducing ordeal or foe more tremendous than school, and although I am profusely grateful for and aspire to acquire higher education, if I were allowed to dispense with precisely one stress factor of my life, it would indubitably be school, the removal of which would offer numerous benefits.
Most importantly, removing school from my schedule would mean a healthier lifestyle for me, as regards both the physical and mental aspect of my well-being. At present, due to the demands of proper school preparation, I scarcely get over five hours of sleep a night, going to bed no sooner than one in the morning only to wake up at six. This causes me to require at least two cups of coffee to remain in a vigilant, functional state throughout the day. Replacing sleep with caffeine this way, however, is not sufficient nor sustainable. According to an article published by the Sleep Foundation, the recommended sleep duration for my age group is between seven to nine hours per night, meaning that my current sleeping habits are, albeit not extreme, certainly not adequate. As per another article published by the Sleep Health Solutions, individuals subjected to long-term sleep deprivation are more likely to suffer from hypertension, heart attacks and strokes, obesity, diabetes, depression and anxiety, decreased brain function, memory loss, a weakened immune system, lower fertility rates and psychiatric disorders. The removal of school would, therefore, ensure my being at a lower risk of developing any of the aforementioned medical complications, some of which I can already observe on myself.
Moreover, due to school, my diet is less than poor, as I desperately wolf down candy to supplement my lack of energy and have little to no time for the preparation of home-made, nutritious meals. Were it not for my family, whose care and support has helped me overcome many school-related issues, I would likely not eat much unprocessed food at all and would lack several if not most vital substances necessary for the appropriate nourishment of the body. Subsequently, school not only deprives me of proper eating habits, but also reduces my overall independence as I am forced to rely on others when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Following suit with my poor mental and physical health are my continuously worsening relationships. I can hardly remember a time when I would tell my mother that I would join her on the sofa to chat and spend time together and actually stay true to my word, as school usually preoccupies me until midnight at the least, by which my mother is typically fast asleep. Whether it is my familial relationships, friendships or otherwise, all have suffered immensely due to my busy academic life. Currently, in fact, I scarcely see any of my friends other than my classmates. The last time I saw my best friend was on her birthday approximately ten months ago, and I skipped out on that of my other friend, who celebrated his nineteenth birthday this October. Because of what, do you suppose, had I done this? Because of school, of course.
Last but not least, cutting school out of my life would provide me with much needed time to pursue my passions. On a daily basis I spend nine hours on average tending to schoolwork, taking into account all necessary preparation and the school curriculum for the day itself. For instance, on the 24th of November I spent twelve hours on school all together, having measured so for an experiment I was conducting during said month. Twelve hours is over half of a person’s waking hours. With the factor of schoolwork gone, I could devote a significant portion of my day to the pursuit of my hobbies and desires. I could finally work on one of my 3 books, the concepts for which add up to ten. Ten unwritten books whose characters keep disparagingly clawing at my brain, begging to be released, yet with no one able to come to their aid due to lack of spare time. It is not solely book writing, but also my other interests that suffer this fate. My love for painting, sculpting, knitting, sewing, all of the listed and more.
To conclude, I would like to state that I certainly do not under any circumstances wish to remove school and education as such out of my life entirely. On the whole, I enjoy the thrill of studying and discovering new things about the intricacies of our world and society and comprehend the true significance of the knowledge that is provided us, the youth, by the educational system. However, as it is the most stressful, most painful matter of my existance at present, I could not do otherwise but choose it for this piece of writing. Fortunately there are ways of reducing the stress a nerve-wrecking factor such as school may induce other than its absolute expulsion from one’s life, be it increased planning and time management, prioritising a selection of subjects or lowering personal grade standards and involvement, therefore I shall attempt to put these into practice instead. School is my belle dame sans merci, whom, as much as I may dislike for harming my mental and physical health, relationships and for halting my progress as far as my aspirations and interests go, I would doubtless be reluctant to part ways with until my dying breath, or at least until I graduate.
The English Essay Competition is organised by LEAF Academy, an international boarding high school in Bratislava. The competition is open to all Slovak students from primary and secondary schools who are passionate about writing in the English language.
