Are students really busier today than they were, say, twenty years ago? It feels as though every year, the bar gets higher and higher for what a “successful” student looks like. According to a report from the Journal of Youth and Adolescence analyzing extracurricular activities over the past 25 years, middle and upper class parents, in particular, “double down” on extracurriculars when their children are at increasingly younger ages. And UCLA studies repeated over years of incoming freshman classes report a steady increase in the percentage who felt they “were frequently overwhelmed by all they had to do,” from 16% in the 1985 study to 41% in 2016. The question remains whether this holds true at Lakeside.

I interviewed Dr. Kimura ‘04, a Lakeside English teacher who was able to offer an alum perspective. As a student, he participated in a wide range of activities — from music to Stud Gov to hosting Halloween parties at community centers. Despite his admission of a perhaps later than healthy bedtime, when I asked him if he felt “busy,” he responded, “‘busy’ is not the word I would use to describe my life as a Lakeside student. To me, ‘busy’ connotes a sense of labor, even drudgery. I know that ‘busy’ doesn’t have to mean ‘joyless’ or that it’s not a choice, but to me ‘busy’ carries an implication that’s less accurate than something like ‘full’ or ‘active.’” He also mentioned that it wasn’t always easy to balance schoolwork with extracurriculars, and that on occasion he was willing to sacrifice studying for a test for the sake of late practices or tennis games.

When I asked Mireya W. ‘29 about how much time her extracurriculars took up each day, she offered a slightly different picture. She stated that including carpooling time, crew could take up close to 4 hours after school before she finally got home to do her homework. Despite the intensity of practice, she said she still manages to prioritize sleep by front-loading her homework into ACT periods and frees, saving her some time on the days she can’t start homework until 7:30 p.m. For Mireya, every week has a different level of work from school, but she mentioned she has found it to be manageable enough, though she does point out that “maintaining a 4.0 GPA is honestly difficult … [that is] something not talked about enough.” 

Both students past and present have found rich ways to fill their extracurricular lives. One difference between Dr. Kimura and Mireya is that Dr. Kimura branched out while Mireya chose to hone in on a couple activities.

Years ago, when I started at Lakeside in fifth grade, I heard a then-upperclassmen comment on the bus that it seemed that every Lakesider had a word tattooed on their forehead — something that everybody knew they were incredibly good at and dedicated to. And perhaps this is what has shifted our idea of our own busyness: we’re so dedicated to a handful of extracurricular activities, they become our identities and we may place more emphasis on achieving success in them. Naturally, this changes our perception of workload.

In terms of the impact of college admissions on life as a student at Lakeside, Dr. Kimura says that while it was something he did consider, it also wasn’t a key player in his high school experience. On the other hand, he noted that not everyone in his class shared the same sentiment, and that some were indeed very focused on it. He also recalls being “basically grounded during my senior fall until my college applications were all in.” Mireya, even years later, mostly echoes the same idea: college is not the deciding factor in whether or not she chooses to pursue something outside of school, though she realizes it is a big reason why she puts so much effort into grades. And she also notes that other Lakeside students think differently about college applications, with some allowing it to change which extracurriculars they take part in.

Besides the increased specialization when comparing the busyness of Mireya W. ‘29 and Dr. Kimura, one other key difference was how well-discussed they found topics of stress and burnout at Lakeside in their respective times. Dr. Kimura noted that “students today speak much more freely than when I was a student about sleep, stress, burnout, and mental health. That’s a good thing insofar as it can destigmatize those kinds of challenges for students that would otherwise hesitate to reach out for support. I would also want to acknowledge that while we’ve come a long way in destigmatizing mental health challenges […] that stigma still exists.” Fittingly, Mireya agreed that the topic is frequently discussed among students. 

So maybe in addition to the pressure that comes to specializing, another reason we feel so busy is just because we talk about it more. Dr. Kimura brings up an important point: “I do wonder if students today experience social pressure to say that they feel distress, excessive busyness, and lack of sleep that they may or may not actually be feeling for fear of standing out, appearing arrogant, or not seeming supportive to a friend by sharing an experience.”

Ultimately, the question of whether students today are actually busier, at least at Lakeside, is probably answered most accurately as “not really.” No matter the era, students at this school have always been incredibly engaged outside of the classroom. But the more interesting question is whether the perception of our busyness has changed, and the answer to that is probably yes. Our choices to specialize more and be more open about our feelings can change our attitudes about how we spend our time. And this isn’t necessarily good or bad, but it’s a choice we should be conscious about making. As Dr. Kimura aptly put it, “I suppose I would encourage students to be honest and authentic — to share when they’re struggling, but also to share when they’re experiencing joy and belonging too. Life is full of ups and downs and both of them are better when they’re shared, in my experience.”