Scotlight Magazine
Carlmont High School's Feature Magazine 2017-2019
Design
Issue 3
"Labels"
May 2018
Issue 2
"The Arts Issue"
February 2018
Writing
2018: Issue 2 - Emotions
Increased heart rate, perspiration, tunnel vision, hyperventilation.
Different symptoms, same diagnosis: anxiety.
Although children as young as six have reported to have anxiety, teenagers and adults between the ages of 14 and 40 struggle the most.
This total comes to about three million people every year in the U.S., according to WebMD.
Three million. This means that many different causes and effects of anxiety all fall under just one umbrella.
Merriam-Webster defines anxiety as, “an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it.”
This ‘nature of a threat’ causes an emotion center in the cerebral hemisphere of the brain--the amygdala--to rapidly send adrenaline throughout the entire body. Although there is only one bodily reaction, there are many different threats and thus, many different reactions to this adrenaline.
In pre-civilization times a threat could include a nearby predator or the fear of not obtaining food for the day. But in today’s society threats stem from anywhere and everywhere.
“My stress stems from many different areas such as school and my extracurriculars which then makes me feel anxious,” Kaitlyn Gates, a junior, said.
Today’s expectations for students are ridiculously high to the point where a 4.0 GPA is not good enough. Colleges look for sports, volunteer hours, and other extracurriculars on top of that perfect GPA. When competing against students who excel in all of these areas, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed.
“The workload in high school is a lot more intense, and it goes beyond homework and tests,” Gates said, “When I don’t have time to work on my own hobbies, or relax, my anxiety increases.”
On top of school work and preparing for college, students often feel the need to conform to social norms or trends in order to convey a certain attitude to their peers.
“My anxiety comes from my need to fit in to the conforms of what society says my life should look like. I also stress a lot about my future, but my appearance to others is something always in the back of my mind,” Hunter Hawkes, a junior said.
While some students excel at academics and extracurriculars, others appear to ‘excel’ at the social aspects in high school; having a large group of friends and attending social events can cause those who don’t participate in those things to feel insignificant. The desire to fit into these pre-set ‘norms’ causes additional anxiety for many.
“My anxiety has just been around since before I can remember,” Sally Brown* said, “When I was little my English wasn’t very good because at the time I spoke three languages, so I always had this constant worry of people not liking me because of that. My anxiety has definitely increased since high school because of the need and want to go to college.”
Whether it be academics, social anxiety, or the desire to fit in, each threat causes physical symptoms of which the intensity can vary.
“Quick breathing is usually what happens to me. Depending on how bad my anxiety attack is, my vision can blur too,” Gates said, “And the only way for me to calm back down is to completely stop what I’m doing and focus on bringing back normal breathing.”
Anxiety attacks can come at any time in any place. Some start off slow, while others quickly escalade into loss of vision and in extreme cases, loss of consciousness.
“My reaction is all in my head. When my thoughts keep flooding in, my eyes start to move around really fast,” Hawkes said, “I usually feel normal again after exercising.”
Physical activity can often be beneficial, but achieving a mental equilibrium is a more effective method for others.
“I start to inhale and exhale slowly while listening to music. I try to distance myself away from others so I can have that moment alone to really calm my nerves,” Brown* said.
Anxiety takes on many forms and impacts many different people. Recognizing how common it truly is and how many people are affected by it can be comforting to those who feel that they struggle alone.
2018: Issue 3 - Labels
The 1790s saw America’s very first political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Each side had its own strong stance on how to establish our nation and its constitution.
Since then, along with the times, politics have changed,but loyalty to one’s party has remained strong.
However, it seems that this loyalty now stems from the long-standing rivalry between today’s Democrats and Republicans rather than affiliation with the basic principles of each party.
According to a survey conducted by the Washington Post in 2016, “Americans thought that 32 percent of Democrats are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The correct answer is 6 percent. And they thought that 38 percent of Republicans made more than $250,000 a year. The correct answer is 2 percent.”
Stereotypes promoting that all rich people are Republicans and all members of the LGBTQ+ community are Democrats are the very factors thickening the line between Americans and their red and blue political parties.
According to the same survey, “Americans overestimate the percentage of Democrats who are black, union members, or atheists. [...] They overestimate the percentage of Republicans who are seniors, evangelicals, or Southerners.”
According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of white southerners do in fact tend to vote Republican and a majority of those not affiliated with any religion tend to vote Democrat.
Although these demographics may provide evidence behind some assumptions made in the survey, one would hope that the reasons people are affiliated with a certain party is because they agree with the actions that party is taking within government, rather than following others based on appearance and affiliation with other groups.
In addition, not all registered Democratic voters want to raise taxes or create a welfare state, just as not all registered Republican voters are racists who want to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
While these issues are significant matters for both sides, registering and identifying as a member of either party does not automatically mean that voters standby every one of their party’s actions or ideals.
After the 2016 presidential election, the ends of the political spectrum reached new extremes.
Those who voted for Republican nominee, Donald Trump, were deemed racist. Those who did not were deemed left-wing extremists who must be against “making America great again.”
However, it is not simply black and white, or in this case, red and blue.
While most voters make efforts to stay loyal to their party, Trump’s actions since taking office have strayed far from the traditional policies of a Republican president and made it difficult for members of his party to continue their support for him.
The candidates of the 2016 presidential election created a significant divide between the Democrat and Republican parties.
The possibility of a woman taking office the White House after the first African American president was too radical for some, but for others, a reality television star was just as far-fetched.
Because the political spectrum has expanded to new, more extreme ends, more variation between voters has emerged within each party.
Although most members of the Republican party are supporters of the Second Amendment, many Republicans who consider themselves moderate are beginning to renounce the amendment after the eruption of the #NeverAgain movement, according to an article from Independent.
While moderate Democratic Indiana Senator, Joe Donnelly recently publicized his support for the GOP tax bill, arguing that it will “make it easier for families to get mortgages,” according to USA Today.
Although his opinion is not a popular one among the members of his party, he does represent the blue side.
Party loyalty still remains in today’s political climate.
However, there are many versions of this loyalty within each party.
Despite our caricatured notion on what a typical member of the Democrat or Republican party should look like, it is important to realize most voters have a unique and differing perspective on the basis of their own party.