Northside Students Weigh in on Practicing Mindfulness

Crowded hallways, social stressors, deadlines, exams — these are all stressors that can constitute an average day for a high school student. A school day may seem like a routine occurrence, but for many students, it can become overwhelming if there are not enough resources, spaces, or strategies available to help them cope with daily pressures. Luckily, there are exercises students can practice in order to prioritize their mental health, even during the busiest parts of the school year.

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of the present moment and of one’s thoughts and feelings. It involves intentionally focusing on immediate surroundings and senses, and it is a calming technique that many teenagers use for de-stressing during the school day.

According to the Greater Good Science Center, “Mindfulness is both a practice and a way of relating to life.” It can be difficult to visualize how exercises in mindfulness manifest in a high school setting, but as the Center explains it, “A student practicing mindfulness in the middle of a school day might, pause, take a conscious breath, check in with himself, and observe how he is feeling before he takes a test or before a stressful event.”

Practicing mindfulness can look different for different students – It doesn’t have to involve breathing exercises, but may involve finding favorite or quiet spaces to decompress, paying closer attention to experiences like eating and walking, journaling, or practicing yoga and meditation. It can be as simple as making sure our actions and words during the school day are chosen with intention.

Mindfulness takes a unique form at Northside. It is a small school with more limited options spatially, but this hasn’t stopped Northside students from utilizing the school’s spaces and resources to practice mindfulness. 

High school students are in a difficult stage of life, with building academic and social pressures and an increasingly fraught cultural and political atmosphere outside of Northside. Mindfulness plays a more important role than ever.

In light of these growing pressures, Northsiders have shared some of their favorite spaces, strategies, and resources for developing effective mental health and mindfulness practices at school to pass on to the rest of the student population.

Stressors and Strategies

A lot of Northside students share some common stressors during the school year. For sophomore Eden Weiss, they include work load, expectation to take difficult or AP classes, and social pressures. However, Eden has strategies to help her cope: “I try to organize what I have to do and write lists. I also have some breathing techniques.” Eden admits that, “I would like to practice mindfulness more often, but I’m working on it.”

Junior Cecilie Garcia, who also finds the academic pressures of the school year can become overwhelming, explains, “When things start to feel like too much, I take a step back and ask if what I’m worrying about is really worth my time.”

Farzana Zarea is a freshman at Northside, and finds that she is most stressed out when it comes to her schoolwork, and specifically essay writing assignments. When she gets overwhelmed, she reaches out to her friends: “Usually they help me, or we figure out we’re struggling with the same thing and we get through it together.” On a weekly basis, Farzana practices mindfulness by paying attention to others’ feelings and checking in with them, explaining that, “If I see someone’s body language is off, I ask them about it. I can read the room.”

Junior Evelyn Chan says her biggest struggle is finding a balance, especially between volleyball practice and homework. She copes by “getting a lot of sleep and taking long showers, and just thinking about the big picture.”

Natalia Geenen (11th grade) worries about “getting enough sleep while also finishing everything that needs to get done.” Similarly to Evy, Natalie describes “zoning out” as a mindfulness strategy: “Sometimes I take some time to think about what I’m really doing, and in the grand scheme of things, quizzes and tests don’t really matter.”

Spaces and Resources

Students also listed some of their favorite spaces at Northside to decompress, or where they feel the most comfortable. 

Eden has a specific classroom she likes to visit when she gets stressed out: “I like Room 205, Ms. Flores’s room. The lighting is very cozy and peaceful, and it’s just a nice vibe.”

Junior Amberly Huynh recommends the weight room as a space for students to focus on themselves and on mindfulness. “In my PE class, we meditate in the weight room, and it really helps me take in the current moment and not worry about anything else outside of it.” She also loves hanging out in the art wing.

Natalie does not have a specific space, but recommends “being a part of a team, like the basketball team, and being a part of that community and participating in those activities, just makes me feel a lot better and makes me feel more sane.”

Farzana has a specific space that she loves to visit, describing “the little stage crew area near the booth” as a “safe and happy” place for her at the end of the school day. It is a rare area of Northside that is generally very quiet and more private compared to other shared spaces.

Along with these spaces, the majority of Northside students recommend the library and the counseling office as resources for students feeling overwhelmed or stressed out.

There is more pressure involved in the school year, and in each students’ personal experience, than meets the eye. Luckily, Northside students are smart enough to take advantage of its resources and spaces and take initiative to improve their own routines through mindfulness. Hopefully, their advice inspires others to do the same.