losing motivation

By Lizbeth Murillo Sandoval

Being a student during the pandemic is tough right now because everything is online and it’s not the same as physically being in the classroom. It’s even worse when you have a job on the side. Kids may later on begin to experience depression or anxiety from their school work and their job.

Jason Magana, a 17 year-old attending Yerba Buena High School, had explained, “My anxiety comes from school and work, it's very overwhelming and since imma have two jobs starting next week I honestly don't know what is gonna happen.”

School as it is can be stressful for students but what makes it worse is when you’re also trying to maintain a job at the same time.

Magana explains, “Since this school year started I've been struggling, the teachers assign things thinking we have all the time in the world to do that work. The majority of us can care less about school at this point since we have more important things to take care of like family and trying to support them in every way possible. The majority of us also have jobs which take up a huge chunk of our time. All of this pressure and overwhelming work just weakens my moral to even show up to class.”

The overwhelming feeling that comes from the stress of school and work can add on to what one is already trying to deal with mentally. The Tribune Content Agency explained that some kids might turn to drugs, alcohol, or even smoke.

Magana expressed that when dealing with anxiety, he can notice the change in his energy. His positive energy will convert into negative energy. He also notices that his mood changes as well. He would rather be alone when this happens.

I struggle with depression and anxiety a lot. At times, school adds on to that. It can get so stressful that I begin to feel unmotivated in my school work.

An article published by Fairfax Media Publications titled “Pandemic Takes Its Toll on Students” had stated that school work is starting to become more pointless to them. To those students who have jobs, they will begin to feel uncertain about it.

The feelings that depression or anxiety leave behind can be tiresome. At times it feels like you are unmotivated or tired. Most of the time, people might not even notice this in kids, teens, or adults.

A study at the World of Scientific Discovery explained that depression often causes one to feel guilty, restless, irritable, and even gloomy. It also causes one to have a difficult time concentrating. They aren’t able to think clearly.

To me personally, being behind a screen and already dealing with these illnesses, it's getting harder and harder by the day to be mentally present.

The pandemic, school, and having a job left a huge impact in a bad way. We can’t do much about it but what we can do is take our time on things and hope for the best. If you feel like everything is becoming a struggle, help is there for you.