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Take a shot (of Gatorade) every time someone on TV touches their face
Stress stemming from COVID-19 overwhelms juniors
Changes in standardized testing, GPA, college admissions worry students
By Avantika Singh Staff Writer
Right before school closed down, junior Ellie Wong said she felt a cloud of stress looming over the students as they walked through the huddled outdoor hallways.
Even during quarantine as she takes a seat to join her next Zoom class, Wong said she can feel this same sentiment of unmentioned stress penetrating through her computer screen.
According to Wong, the college admissions process has become even more confusing now than it was before, creating new stress levels for students.
“The college admissions process was a toss-up before, and it’s even more of one now,” Wong said.
With changes in the school’s grading system, the way Advanced Placement tests are administered and the cancellation of college tours and standardized testing, COVID-19 has added to the uncertainty of the college process, increasing juniors’ stress.
Junior Mia Baldonado said she came face-to-face with these struggles when her college tours were canceled.
“When shutdowns started, I had just begun looking at colleges that were of interest to me,” Baldonado said. “During President’s Day weekend, I had looked at a few West Coast colleges, and was planning on visiting schools on the East Coast during spring break.”
Unable to tour colleges, juniors like Wong, who is trying to decide whether she would thrive in the suburbs or a rural environment, say they are feeling confused.
“I was one of those students planning to visit colleges,” Wong said. “Obviously, the notion of demonstrated interest in college admissions will have to be redefined. Virtual tours are still available, but it’s not the same. I will likely have to reach out to alumni or current students at the schools I am interested in to gain insight into the campus culture.”
In addition to these changes, many juniors are also feeling anxious over Palo Alto Unified School District’s decision to transition to a credit-based grading system.
However, both Baldonado and Wong said they were quick
By Gianna Brogley Lifestyle Editor
Every morning, junior Amelia Lagna sits down in front of her mirror, preparing to do her makeup for the day. Before she starts, Lagna contemplates what aesthetic she wants to achieve through her look: soft and innocent, or edgy and grunge.
Through social media apps such as Pinterest and Instagram, teens save photos with a common theme that they feel a connection with and label it as their aesthetic: a perfect way to experiment with the concept of artistic identity and self expression.
“Aesthetics are most definitely a form of art,” Paly art teacher Tracey Atkinson said. “One often considers the elements of art, such as color and shape, and the principles of design, such as balance, unity and pattern when making aesthetic choices.”
Aesthetics often reveal or represent the owner’s personal traits, making each one unique to each individual.
Sophomore Saniyah Syed said her aesthetic is mainly grunge and vintage inspired and incorporates darker colors.
“I’ve always been a creative person, so I like to reflect my personality with my aesthetic and style,” Syed said.
Lagna said she doesn’t like to limit herself to one aesthetic so
NOAH BALDONADO/USED WITH PERMISSION
Ah! Junior Mia Baldonado said she feels stressed out by the changes of the Advanced Placement Exams. The new exam format does not include multiple choice sections and has been revised to a 45 minute exam.“I am concerned,” Baldonado said. “A lot of sections I am better at have been cut.”
to realize that credit grading is a feasible method, despite originally feeling frustrated that their hard work during the third quarter would not count toward much.
“It’s a little disappointing that I won’t get recognized for my third-quarter efforts, (but) I’m glad that grading has shifted to this system as it levels the playing field for students with different at-home situations,” Baldonado said.
According to Baldonado, the current switch to credit grading will motivate her to work even harder senior year for her grades to make up for the absence of letter grades this semester.
And the changes in the upcoming AP exams only adds to Baldonado and Wong’s anxiety and confusion.
“In AP Spanish, they have removed the reading and listening comprehension sections and writing sections, leaving only two short spoken tests,” Baldonado said. “Since I’m not a native speaker, my weakest point is speaking, so I’m really worried about how that will play out because before, my other sections would have compensated for the speaking section.”
For Wong, the root for her uneasiness regarding AP tests has to do with less clarity about how the tests will work since this is a special circumstance.
“I do not know what to expect for these APs, whether to be relieved or worried,” Wong said.
Wong said the scariest part of the exam is that she can spend her time frantically preparing for the tests by studying in-depth material learned all year, yet only one 45-minute she constantly adjusts it based on her mood.
“Normally, my aesthetic is simple and cute, but sometimes I like wearing black and going for an edgier look,” Lagna said.
Paly art teacher Sue La Fetra said sticking to a single aesthetic can restrict one’s artistic expression.
“I think being yourself is important, but trying out different aesthetics can be freeing,” La Fetra said. “Who among us is only one type of person all the time?”
Like many teens, Syed said her aesthetic is a creative outlet where she can freely express herself through fashion, makeup and art.
“I tend to wear a lot of accessories, like big earrings or layers of necklaces,” Syed said. “I also like to wear a lot of colorful tops and oversized jeans.”
According to Syed, her aesthetic gives her the confidence to wear clothes that are more out of her comfort zone and helps her express her individuality.
“Before I started really expressing myself, I cared a lot about what people thought about me,” Syed said. “But when I focused on myself, I became much happier.”
Lagna said exploring different aesthetics has opened up creative doors for her to personalize more aspects of her life.
“Anything that can be artistically inclined, I like making it personal to me,” Lagna said. “I can question will determine whether or not students receive credit.
“I think that all scores in general from this year have to be taken with a grain of salt by college admissions committees,” Wong said.
While it’s no surprise that colleges have been discussing contingency plans for the fall 2020 semester, many students fear schools being closed for the rest of the 2020 year due to COVID-19.
This possibility, coupled with current frustration from college students still expected to pay full tuition for a virtual education, might cause more graduating seniors to take a gap year.
“Because more of the kids from high school class of 2020 will be deferring their admission to next year, there may be drastically fewer spots available at schools for prospective applicants from the class of 2021,” Wong said.
Though, according to Baldonado, not all novel COVID19-related changes have caused more stress.
Most colleges have gone testoptional, which is a relief for juniors who had not taken SATs and ACTs before COVID-19.
“I honestly do not mind that some schools aren’t considering these scores because the SATs and ACTs put so much pressure and stress on students anyways,” she said.
Wong agrees.
“I hope this affects change in the college admissions process as a whole because maybe they will realize that standardized tests actually do not reflect a person’s smartness and only measure one specific kind of intelligence,” spend way too much time just trying to find an aesthetically pleasing Spotify playlist cover.”
Lagna said she also often takes inspiration from social media and her friends when choosing her outfit for the day.
“Sometimes, I’ll find something cool on Instagram and I’m like, I’m doing it!” Lagna said.
Additionally, Syed and Lagna said they both add elements of their aesthetic to their own Instagram posts through cut-out images, filters, color blocking and other effects. Wong said.
Juniors are constantly thinking about what’s in store for them after high school, forcing most to push themselves to limits, hoping to get into their respective dream colleges.
“I still feel like everyone — especially juniors — thinks about college a lot, including whether or not we get in, what we can do to give ourselves a leg up, and a lot of the time we tie our happiness and value to this blatantly random game called college admissions,” Wong said. “I try to separate myself from this, but it’s very hard.”
Palo Alto, infamous for its competitive atmosphere, is known for fostering a stressful environment amongst its students, especially around college.
Ellie Wong
“In Palo Alto there’s this expectation that everyone will be going to college and preferably a well-known one,” Baldonado said. “This creates this sort of pressure for everyone to do exceptionally when it comes to grades, extracurriculars, and just life in general.”
According to Baldonado,
“When I post, I don’t really have a specific theme in mind (for my picture),” Lagna said. “I just like having fun and making an edit that I think is cool.”
Lagna said conveying her personality through art and her aesthetic is important to her identity and self-image.
“I think just having that ability to express yourself is so great because I’m naturally an introverted person, so the way I present myself matters a lot to me,” Lagna said.
Syed said she encourages othwhile the pressure may be a result of underlying parental and societal pressures, Palo Alto has done a better job with working towards eliminating unhealthy stress at school, whether that be through college counseling or mental health resources.
According to Whitney Aquino, Paly’s Wellness Outreach Worker, it is important for students to find outlets to deal with their stress. Aquino emphasizes how important it is to make sure the college a student is looking at is a good fit for them. She also suggests breaking up the application into manageable steps so the process as a whole does not become too overwhelming.
“During this time, it’s important to manage expectations and maintain perspective. Future plans are uncertain for everyone, so it’s especially important to recognize what you can control and try to let go of what you can’t,” Aquino said.
While many of these pressures may come from other sources, much of it has to do with the pressure we put on ourselves as students. Wong said students often compare themselves to their peers and their family.
To change the stigma surrounding college talk in Palo Alto, students will have to redefine success, satisfaction and their source of value to match their own terms, Aquino said.
“This also serves to teach us that no matter how much we prepare for college — whether by participating in multiple extracurriculars or studying hard to get only a certain grade in school — things will happen that we never saw coming,” Wong said. “You
Students use aesthetics as means of self-expression Social media applications spark inspiration in fashion, enable individuality
can’t plan for everything.”
ART BY ANDY WANG
ers who are struggling to be an authentic version of themselves to find their artistic style.
“Having an aesthetic is beneficial when discovering who you are: you learn a lot about yourself when you focus on your self-expression,” Syed said.
La Fetra said she thinks an aesthetic can improve someone’s perspective on life and help them see beauty in the mundane.
La Fetra said, “Appreciation for the simple things can make life worth living when everything else is going wrong.”
Column: Dear Diary
SASHA LEHRER/THE CAMPANILE
By Sasha Lehrer
Art & Photo Director
Monday, May 4
Dear Diary,
I have to say, today wasn’t the best. I managed to force myself out of bed around 7 a.m.., which is progress from the early 2 p.m.. wake-up time that became routine during the first few weeks of quarantine, but I just wasn’t very happy because sometimes I really just can’t get my mind off of how difficult this whole situation is for those who don’t have the privilege of sheltering-in-place. Recently, I’ve been listening to The New York Times Daily podcast. Each episode provides me with 30 minutes of news banter. Listening to the podcast has become a daily ritual, which may be the reason for my negative attitude — to hear first thing in the morning that the president has claimed injecting disinfectants into the body is a cure for the coronavirus makes me worry about the recovery of our nation.
My workout today consisted of a 40-minute bike ride around Palo Alto, where I allowed my brain to shut off from the anxiety of listening to the news. After that, I just didn’t have the motivation to get my school work done. It took me a few (distracted) hours just to write down a list of my school assignments. Come nightfall, I had only checked one assignment off my list! I had some banana bread I made over the weekend which was probably the highlight of the day. I have discovered that microwaving banana bread makes it 100 times better because of the oozing chocolate. I saw this recipe online where you make French toast out of banana bread, what a concept! I may have to try this out in the future.
Tuesday, May 5
Dear Diary,
Today, I managed to get a good chunk of school work done, plus, I picked some flowers across the street which I then made into a bouquet to bring some life and color to my room. I went to the park pretty late in the day, which was very peaceful because nobody was out and the moon was almost full. Seeing the moon gave me hope. In a way, I was able to take on a different perspective: even though there may be a global pandemic occurring, the world will keep spinning, and the moon will keep rising and falling every night.
Wednesday, May 6
Dear Diary,
At this point of the week, I am usually nearing the end of my workload, but for some reason, I still have a long way to go. For my brain break today, I decided to take my skateboard, which hasn’t seen much action in months, out for a ride. I have made it a new goal to perfect my ollie, as last summer I got pretty close but not 100% there. I have found a lot of value in skateboarding because it teaches me determination and hard work. It gives me the chance to use other parts of my brain and body that school just does not really give me access to. Outdoor activities are a great way to keep my brain working and learning rather than frying from hours of watching YouTube or Netflix. Speaking of, I started a show called “Community.” It is a lighthearted and clever sitcom with countless hours of obscure entertainment references which make it fun to watch, but not gripping enough that I will binge all six seasons and mess up my sleep schedule. What I am looking forward to the most is summer. It is only a few weeks away, yet each week feels progressively slower the closer it gets to the end of the school year. It feels weird to me that I will soon be a senior — it feels like I was cheated out of almost a full semester of high school, but I am sure it will not be that big of a deal when I look back on all of this. I cannot wait until I am looking back on all of this.
