*A pseudonym will be used to protect a students identity.

     Depression is a mood disorder where a person experiences symptoms of a depressed mood, sadness and loss of interest in daily activities to the point where it affects their normal function such as their appetite, energy levels, concentration levels and sleep. 

    Each person who suffers from depression suffers differently. Everyone experiences symptoms unique to them. Some may have cases of depression whereas some may have severe cases. 

    Sasha Orlando* shared her story and experience with depression.

    “I would say my experience with depression consists of a lot of ups and downs, sometimes my depression is more prominent than other issues I have in my life like my anxiety,” Orlando stated. 

    Depression can take over someone’s entire life. It can severely affect how someone treats others and how they perform in school. A person’s actions are greatly affected by how they feel. 

    “I would say the hardest part of having depression is not realizing that’s what’s currently going on even though I’ve been dealing with depression since I was seven when my dad passed away. It’s still really hard for me to identify when I am depressed,” Orlando explained. 

    Depression can cause moments of haze where someone is not completely aware of the things going on around them or it can cause a person to not care about the things happening around them.

    “It’s so different for other people so it’s really hard to put that into words. I feel like for me personally, prescription medications have never worked for me. I’ve tried so many for years increased and decreased the dosages for so many different things and that has never been something that has helped it always made things worse. It has made me feel like I have no emotions, and I’m a very emotional person, so that’s not normal for me no matter if I’m depressed or not,” Orlando said. 

     Depression can also bring a sense of comfort. For some people, it can be extremely hard to recover because they find comfort in their sadness. Depression can also be something that someone works so hard to get away from but can not. Depression is a very difficult illness to overcome to the point in which some do not overcome it and end up succumbing the their depression.

    “My recovery process might have looked different for other people, and I wouldn’t even say recovery because I still deal with depression every day of my life. It’s not something that goes away. It may get easier, but the thing that helps me the most is being with my mom or being outside.”

    As Orlando explained how her recovery process might look different than other people’s. Everyone’s recovery and depression experience is going to be unique to them. Everybody’s brain is wired differently.

    Orlando talked about how her depression has changed over time. As a person grows their depression and how it affects their daily life and the symptoms it causes changes, too. 

    “I feel like when I was depressed before maybe in the past year and previously I had a really hard time talking to people about it. I didn’t know how to talk about my feelings or why I was feeling this way. I feel like now when I’m depressed, I want to talk about it.  I want somebody to be there for me, but I mean it’s still really hard when you can’t recognize that’s what the issue is,” Orlando stated.

    Orlando’s experience may look similar or very different to others. Orlando’s story might be one some can relate to. Depression can become a very serious illness if not treated. Orlando talked about what did and did not work for her and how similar things may or may not work for someone else. It is all about finding what works just right for a specific person. 

    Recovery is not easy, but it is possible. “Recovery is long and it’s not easy to go through, but it can be done,” Orlando said.

Currently, the high school, along with most other schools operate on a five day week: school from Monday-Friday, then a break on Saturday and Sunday. However, many have come to question the efficiency of this system. It is possible a four day week may be more beneficial for students and teachers.

Switching to a four day school week could reap numerous benefits. The National Conference of State Legislatures said, “with a longer weekend, students have more time to rest and engage in extracurricular activities, which can lead to better attendance during the week. This, in turn, can lead to improved academic performance.”

While a five day week does give teachers more time to teach their lessons, it may be overwhelming for students, especially those who are very involved.

“I feel like [a five day school week] is definitely a downside for those who have a really hard schedule because they can get burnt out easily,” Senior Daniella Vasquez explained. “Most students will get burnt out easily and like can affect their mental health in a negative way.”

Students with vigorous schedules and students involved in extracurriculars commonly feel spread thin with the five day school week. When accounting for academics, extracurricular activities, work and free time, the five day school week does not seem to provide students with the time they need.

Freshman Keira Sayre shared what she thinks of the current five day school week: “I feel like some of the benefits are that it gives teachers more time to teach us,” Sayre then continued sharing downsides, “But I feel like some of the downsides are it can over-stress students and we don’t have a lot of time to do our own things or do our own activities.”

A four day school week would provide students with more rest, leading to better performance during the school week.

Senior Allie Bloom stated, “I think [a four day school week] would definitely be beneficial so that people can get more sleep and be more productive on the days that they are in school.”

According to Healthline, research shows 73 percent of high school students regularly do not get a healthy amount of sleep. A lack of sleep leads to decreased academic performance.

Vasquez shared how she thinks students’ attitudes could change if switched to a four day work week. “I think it could definitely help improve mental health because kids would get more time to themselves
and, if you’re burnt out you can have more time to rest.”

Vasquez also introduces a teacher perspective, saying it will give [teachers] more time to plan out better work.

“The four day week could be beneficial to everyone, from students who say they are stressed and overwhelmed to teachers who could appreciate the extra time for lesson planning,” Vasquez explained.

There are many benefits to a four day school week, and many students would prefer it to a five day school week.

Sayre said, “I would personally like to switch to a four day week. I feel like it would be so much easier, especially because of a lot of homework being in honors classes, and I don’t have that much time because of activities after school, so it gives me a lot less time to do my work and it just leaves me stressed out.”

A four day week could exponentially decrease stress of students and increase academic performance.