Welcome to Homecoming

I went out shopping today, and was pleasantly greeted by racks of colorful tulle and glitter. It was a little reminder that homecoming is around the corner. And it got me thinking, while homecoming  can be one of the best times, it can also be a very stressful time. I personally thing that almost every homecoming related even has both a good side and a bad side. First off, there’s the “ date drama”.  I am I going to get asked? If so, who? If I go with him what will people think? Whose group would we go in? Having been both dateless and with a date, I know how frustrating it can be. Don't get me wrong, going with a date was great. I mean honestly, there's nothing like the rush of getting. But I never expected the after part to be so stressful. While my date and I were friends, our friends weren't, so deciding on a group was really hard-no one wants to be without friends on homecoming! So we ended up creating a group with both of our friends, which only created even more stress. Since I tend to be a little OCD, I was the one on charge of coordinating rides, pictures, reservations, etc. And, wow, I never knew how hard it was to get a reservation for about 16 people, thats all i'm going to say. On the other hand, the next year I never got asked. But during the time before the dance I was so stressed about finding a date, then once the reality set in that I wasn't getting asked, I was so disappointed that I got more stressed. Then I had to figure out whether or not I was going and that was hard because I didn't want to be the lone single, but I thought that going in an all single group would make me look pathetic( It doesn't. Actually, I now wish I would have cause it seems like a lot more fun). In both situations share one of the most stressful aspects of homecoming though……Dress shopping. I love dress shopping, actually I adore it. But, I don't know what happens, whenever I'm standing there next to my friends in a potential dress, I seem to criticize every aspect of myself. Why are my shoulders so broad? Is my face always that oily? Ugh, she looks soooooo small. I defiantly need to lose weight before the dance. And then comes the awful "appearance stress". Its the cause of crash diets, tears and angry. I mean that alone is enough stress, the date and group stuff only adds to the tension of the delicate situation. And now that our homecoming is a little over a month away, all these stresses and annoying questions seem to circulate in my mind. Ugh. 

Demanding Sports

Though I no longer do cheer anymore, this friday at the football game, when I saw the girls cheering on the sideline, I remembered just how stressful sports can be. All the yelling from coaches, time crunched schedules, sore muscles, and pressure to win, can really take a toll. For me, I didn't even realize I was stressed. So without knowing it, I ended up causing myself both emotional and physical stress. Like I said earlier in the blog, I basically spent my whole life as a cheerleader- I did the the junior program, instructing, high school cheer, competition cheer, all of it. I loved it. But then last year, I wasn't getting the same rush that I normally did from it. I started dreading practice, something I never did before. And, instead of addressing it, I just contributed it to my larger load of homework. At the time, I had a new coach, who I didn't get along with, we had just won first at nationals, so we were under a lot of pressure to maintain that title, and the practice hours had been made even longer, so it was inly resonable that I was stressed, I just didn't want to admit it. Soon though, the stress started to affect my school and social life too. I was so tired that I couldn't focus on school, so my grades suffered and when my friends wanted to go out all I want to do was relax, so my social life suffered, which caused me even more stress. Yet I continuted not to address it, in fear of having to quit. So, stressed and emotional exhausted, I kepted cheering. One day though, that stress that I was feeling, started to translate into physical stress, and during one of our peformances I hurt my back. I know longer had the decision anymore, I was told that I had to take time off. So thats my story. And if there are any out there who feel as I did, just take a few minutes to asses your stress before you get hurt like I did.

Student Stresses????

Hey everyone, sorry its been awhile since I've last posted- My wi-fi has been down for forever! I just got it back tonight. Anyway, this week instead of blogging about my views, I wanted to ask you about yours.I know there's not many people who read this blog, but if anyone happens to have an opinion on the matter, I'd appreciate the comments. ( I'd actually appreciate the comments anytime :) ) So here it is, what stresses you out the most? I'd really like to raise more awareness about all the stresses that people go through, especially teenagers, and how it can effect them. So far, I only really have the things that stress me out: social dynamics ( cliques, friendships, etc.), appearance, family troubles, time management, school work, money issues, and bullying. And the consequences are things like eating disorders, cutting, suicide, and depression.So that's it, short and sweet. Feel free to post, and if there any other issues or ideas you have on the matter, feel free the post those too!
P.S. Along with the idea of raises awareness about certain things, what do you thing about talking about prevention strategies for each (basic tips to school assemblies, anything along those lines are options)?