"It often feels as if it is young people versus the rest of the world"

Sussex student Jenny Bathurst has been writing for us about pandemic life since lockdown began back in March.
Jenny BathurstJenny Bathurst
Jenny Bathurst

The pandemic robbed her of the chance to sit A levels. But she ended up with three As and is now studying journalism at the University of Brighton (Eastbourne campus).

Here is her latest contribution.

"Stress is not something that I can define, but something that I know I experience far more than I would wish. They say that there is healthy and unhealthy stress, that it can be either a helping hand or a hindrance, but I personally classify it as something which I certainly would much rather do without.

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"As somebody who tends to overthink nearly every situation, I can find myself using the term “I’m really stressed out” on perhaps even a weekly basis much to my mum’s amusement. As I panickily video call her from my university halls asking for help I will almost always sheepishly pick up the phone an hour later to let her know that I am fine and I was worrying unnecessarily - but we are then bound to have the same conversation just days later.

"And perhaps that is all part and parcel of being a young person and a student. But should it have to be. In the majority of societal matters it often feels as if it is young people versus the rest of the world. When our exam grades were decided by a computer algorithm it took an uproar from thousands of students for us to be awarded what we deserve, despite Scottish pupils having experienced the exact same just a week before. I hope that as I age and mature I will still empathise with young people and never lose the verve for equality across all ages.

"This year I noticed a pattern forming amongst many of my friends. When we could no longer attend college and were left without revision or homework for the first time in years, I heard from many telling me that they have never felt so calm and such a lack of pressure. Without the stress of deadlines, exam prep and the early mornings they began to feel like an independent young adult, and not a slave to the education system. I am very grateful for the schooling I have received and since primary school I have always enjoyed the process of learning, but I must agree with my fellow students. Having time to pursue my own interests was incredibly refreshing and it was a relief to not carry that persistent shackle of revision that needs to be completed. University level study is an incredibly independent method of learning and although the workload is intense it has not (yet) felt massively overwhelming. Secondary school memories of being hunched over sheets of uncompleted equations contrast with thoughts of how I would like to have otherwise spent the time, particularly when believing that I am unlikely to go near maths of this kind again.

"And when I consider this pandemic, it causes me to wonder if the government will look at these facts with a blind eye. The stress that was spared this year by formal exams not taking place is surely worth regarding, especially within a generation which is striving to recognise mental health issues. Perhaps this is a simply overlooked issue, and this year I realise that there are certainly matters of greater importance officials need to attend to. We can all name many things about the world we would love to change and this may not come at the very top of my list, but to observe the impact a relaxed mode of study would have on young people would be a fascinating thing."