I detested running laps on Thursday night when I had homework to do and tests to study for, but that was my rightful punishment for being late to practice. I arrived late because of a chemistry retest. I retested for chemistry because I studied for another test in another class. I only had time to study for that test because of practice. Maybe if I had another hour in the day, I could complete all the tasks I committed to. We as students and athletes, daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, have an abundance of titles, yet so little time to fulfill them all.

As teenagers, we have places to be and things to do. High school teachers on average assign about 3.5 hours of homework each week. For high school students who typically have seven classes with different teachers, that could mean as much as 24.5 hours each week, which is more than an entire day per week. Teens need an extra time in the week to complete homework. On top of that, we have tests to take, books to read, sports to play which fills more hours of our day. Everyone is in a rush trying to get from practice to class and other responsibilities to the point they are late.

This suggests that teens in the modern era commit to too much. With so many obligation, students feel intense stress. The American Psychological Association’s Stress in America survey found that 30 percent of teens reported feeling sad or depressed because of stress and 31 percent felt overwhelmed. Another 36 percent said that stress makes them tired and 23 percent said they’ve skipped meals because of it.

So what can we do? With so many tasks to complete, commitment is too much of a commitment. We cannot get to every event on time or fulfill promises we make to each event. However, as a friend and student we commit anyway and end up being late. We figure with more time in a day, just an hour or so, maybe we could get it all done.

A day has 24 hours, but if we had 25, we would fill it with more responsibilities. Teens already have too much to complete to complete everything. We can’t add another hour to the day, but we can full the day with less and you might find yourself with an extra hour to kill.

It’s time for change. It’s time to cut back and take on only what you can handle. Take on the workload that is realistic for the 24 hours a day you have. If you know you don’t have time to fit another obligation, you can turn it down. Say no to people. No to the ridiculous urge to do everything. No to the fear of saying no. No to being late.