In high school, every student faces multiple problems including drugs, alcohol, personal image, academic pressures, lack of money and social pressures. The most common problem, it seems like, is bullying.

One problem that has been high profile recently is bullying. “Bullying doesn’t necessarily mean taking lunch money or beating kids up; bullies today get you mentally, emotionally, and socially,” junior  Jacquan Hanley commented. He added, “I don’t believe these problems will be solved soon, but I’m sure we can try to make a seemingly impossible thing possible.”

Bullying comes in all shapes and forms; Seminole High School does its best with the zero tolerance policy but it will take more than a school policy to change this problem. Students must work together to achieve change. According to FamilyFirstAid.org, almost 30% of teenagers are bullied a year.

As Hanley put it, “Telling our friends when to stop telling certain jokes if they don’t know when or it’s not appropriate.”

Although bullying is a key issue, for some students it’s not the primary problem they face at Seminole. Balancing social life and school work can be very challenging. High school is the time where a lot of students meet new friends and students usually have more freedom than they did in middle school.

Sophomore Kenny Lee stated, “Keeping up with all of the work because you meet so many new people and you start to spend a lot of time with them. Your friends end up being your second family!” Lee said that he keeps up with it by “[…] trying to stay ahead while in school, pay attention as much as I can, and using my free time in class to do homework.”

Sophomore Shelby Buchanan offers, “I find being nice in general is a great way to avoid a lot of pointless drama. If your friend is being trashed or you’re being treated unfairly by a teacher, you want to become involved in the most mature, adult way possible. In general being a nice, genuine, and hardworking person is an easy way to avoid a lot of petty stuff.”

A student’s attitude can affect how many problems they encounter in high school. Some problems are unavoidable, but some can be avoided by controlling actions. Take some advice from TeenHelp.com: “Make the most of your high school experience, and remember that you’re laying the foundation for the rest of your life during these years; they will be challenging but can also be very enjoyable.”

If you have any concerns in regards to bullying, please notify an adult for immediate assistance.