“Finally second semester!” “One more semester to go before summer!” Students at West Ottawa High School are excited for summer, and ready to be done with school. “Oh wait, I have my AP Psychology exam, AP Lang exam, and IB Math exam to take.”

   All juniors in high school can agree that the second semester of high school is the worst part of the year. It’s the final stretch of the year. Summer is just around the corner. Not only do the juniors have spring sports kicking off the spring semester, the workload, let alone SAT, AP, and IB exams coming, too.

   There are 21 available AP courses at West Ottawa, and 775 students are currently enrolled. Majority of these students are involved in extracurricular activities, as well.

   “The most stressful thing during the second semester was trying to finish up all of the classwork for my AP’s so that we had time to start preparing for the exam. It was also hard to keep up with the workload and stay motivated because by that time I felt that I was very burnt out and just ready for school to be over,” Dishinger said. Involved in AP Psychology, AP Biology, and AP Calculus BC, Dishinger has spent the majority of her time at home doing homework. Junior year for her was “stressful” as she described it. “It was stressful taking AP classes…during soccer season we go straight from school to practice, then once we get home we are so tired, we have no motivation to do more homework.”

   For most students, exam and testing weeks have been described as the most draining week. All students participate in their class exams, while also having additional exams for the AP and IB classes.

   Specifically, juniors have it worse: AP and IB testing, SAT testing after spring break, and additionally their regular everyday classes. They don’t have any exemption from these exams though.

   Jr. Brooke Pedersen is a student who is involved in various extracurricular activities as well as challenging classes. “I am in AP Calculus and AP Environmental Science, as well as IB Spanish. I am planning on taking the exam for both as well…The most stressful thing in the second semester is maintaining good grades throughout the second semester while lacking motivation and playing multiple sports. There is little time to complete homework, relax, and go to all the sports practices and games,” Pedersen said.

   Balancing extracurricular activities and school work during the second semester of the year has been and always will be a difficult skill to do. With the school year coming to an end, all students can focus on is summer starting and no more school. The workload that they have to deal with gets intense and with little to no motivation.

   Other juniors, just as Pedersen described it, are figuring out the time and work that comes with being a junior.

   Jr. Samantha Bolt, for instance, is a student who has a heavy workload.  “I am currently in AP Chemistry, IB math, and IB Business Management…One of my biggest challenges in the second semester is motivation. I become stressed with homework and anxious in preparation for the exams in May.” Bolt said. With tests coming soon and the workload adding up, the desire to do it just decreases immensely.

   “As an athlete taking AP and IB courses, time management is one of the most important factors to being less stressed.” Many juniors involved in sports during second semester can agree that with the assignments increasing it is a difficult job to completely balance everything. “A time that has been extremely stressful while I am involved in sports is having an important test the day after a game. Getting home late, I don’t know whether getting more sleep or studying throughout the night is more beneficial for me.”

   The amount of responsibilities juniors take on during the second semester is insane. Finding the time to get sleep, stay active, study for tests and exams, finish homework after school and on weekends, spend time with friends and family, and all while going to school for seven hours five days of the week. It is official: juniors have it the worst during the second semester of school.