As you have probably realized by now, high school students have incredibly busy lives, and I am no exception. Each day is planned for me as to what I'll do after school, and sometimes early in the morning before school. Every day there is something else to be done. I go nonstop, and you may too. Granted, I am involved in more extracurricular activities than some other students, but I'm sure that stress levels are still high with other girls as well. On Mondays I wake up, go to school, and then swim for two hours. I go home and do my homework. Tuesday is the same. Wednesday I run instead of swim. Thursday I wake up at 5:30 and come to school for 6:30 so I can run in the morning. After school I go swim for a while. Friday is the same as Thursday,except Friday night I go to the football game if there is one, or relax/ do homework if there isn't. (Boring, right?) Some weeks there are cross country meets or swim meets on various days of the week. Saturday I usually run, swim, or compete. Sunday I run two miles on my own and do homework (that's the easy day of my week). So I have a pretty rigorous schedule. The trick to succeeding in an environment like this is to have stress relief. Think of things that you like to do. Do you like reading? Maybe painting? I play the piano and sometimes ride my bike. I listen to music all of the time. When I'm really tired I'll watch some tv or take a nap. Try to find something that will help you unwind and feel refreshed. If you're having a bad day, take the rest of the day off and do something for you. If it's a really bad day, do something for someone else. I'm not sure how it works but there are chemicals in your brain that make you feel good when you help others. Some people really like taking a relaxing bath, or even going shopping can help you. You can do something as simple as going for a walk. Any of these things has the potential to make you feel like a brand new person, and you'll feel like you can take on the world the next day. Just make sure that you aren't forcing yourself to do your relaxing activity. Don't make your "me time" stressful, just enjoy it for the peaceful experience it should be. There are so many things you can do to improve yourself, and I hope this article helped you get some ideas on how to balance your busy life.