Teenagers in high school all have completely different backgrounds, stories, and components of their lives. But they all have one thing in common: too much to do and not enough time. Plenty of kids have a simple schedule that consists of going to school, going home, watching Netflix, then staying up late doing homework. Others may go home, to dance class or gymnastics for four or five hours, and get home so late that there's nothing to do but go to bed. Athletes that play on school teams have a completely different schedule. And kids who are in clubs or publications or music groups have their own agenda too.

School is a major priority (hopefully) in most high schoolers’ lives. Pressure is put on us to get amazing grades on everything and score well on the SAT and take all honors classes. We spend hours doing worksheets and homework, practice problems and study guides, reading and writing, and of course, studying. But, for many teens, those hours are spent on other things. Maybe they lack the motivation to do well in school, or maybe they have other priorities.

For lots of students, one of those priorities is sports. Participating in a competitive sport is extremely time-consuming. Each day after school, teams meet to train for their sports, including morning practices at 6 AM, long practices after school, or whatever it takes. Participating in a sport outside of school is just as hard; it takes time to drive there and back, and you could spend hours at practice and not get home until you're too tired to do homework. Not only do you spend hours each week practicing and getting stronger to prepare for your competitions, meets, games, etc, but you also spend time and energy thinking about those sports. Whether you're envisioning the competition, realizing what you could have done better, or worrying about how hard the next practice will be, you're probably wasting time thinking that could be better spent on schoolwork.

But the life of a high schooler doesn't stop there; you can't leave out publications, music groups, and clubs. Members of the yearbook or newspaper staff are constantly coming to school early or staying late to meet their deadlines, and drama students never stop rehearsing for their big show. The debate club is always debating, and the robotics club is busy learning about technology. Band, chorus and orchestra are singing and playing day in and day out to learn their songs and perform to the best of their ability.

With school, sports, and clubs, you’d think being able to prioritize would be hard enough. But there's still more that makes up the balancing act of a high schooler’s life. Social life and social media. Hanging out with your friends on Friday night is fun and exciting, but is it a better way to spend your precious time than studying? Your favorite TV show comes out the night before a test, your friends are all watching together, do you go join the fun, or tell them you're busy studying? High schoolers worry about their social reputation—hair must be perfect, outfits must be coordinated, and only certain backpacks are cool. But failing a test wouldn't ruin your reputation?

What about the drama and rumors that race through high schools? One wrong move and the whole school will hear about your embarrassing moment within seconds. Just with the click of a button. Social media and cell phones make for an even more complicated life. High school students spend class time texting and Snapchatting instead of paying attention to the teacher. They spend their time thinking of clever Instagram captions or scrolling through Twitter. One small piece of technology mesmerizes teens, sucking up all of their time, using all of their focus, and constantly taking their eyes off of the person they're talking to, off of the task in front of them, off of the roads, and onto their phones.

Now imagine you are an honors student who plays soccer for the school’s team, plays a major role in the school play, and is on the yearbook staff. Your friends invite you to go see a movie, but you have soccer practice. You were already debating skipping practice because you needed to study for that AP World test, but now you also have to decline going to the movies, and you're planning on staying late after school to finish working on your section in the yearbook. Or maybe you are the type of student who doesn't care about school, but you dance on a competition team and sing in the chorus. Maybe you juggle running cross country and track, writing for the newspaper, taking all honors classes, and playing the trumpet in the band. What if you have to prioritize the school tennis team, and your club tennis team, along with schoolwork and being the captain of the debate team?

Everyone's different, and everyone's sucked into their own little bubble with their teammates and friends. They all feel that they have it the worst; but in reality, it's a balancing act for all of us. How do you know what's more important—not letting your friend down or not failing a test? How do you determine which part of your crazy life deserves the most attention? I wish I had the answer. But all of us have tons of things going on in our lives and not nearly enough time in the day to do it all, but the best you can do is to try your hardest to handle the balancing act that is your high school life.