Midway through Nov. 2024, I reached a point where it was hard for me to do normal tasks, such as simple classroom assignments and eating properly. I eventually figured out that I was experiencing burnout, which was terrifying to me. 

I discovered that something you love doing can easily become something you despise. Surveys have suggested that 27% of teenagers experience burnout, causing these students to be faced with emotional exhaustion, self doubt and depression. Burnout is a scary problem to deal with, especially in high school. In the process of taking numerous AP courses and planning for college, the extracurricular or hobby you love can quickly become a tedious ordeal. 

I started producing Midtown’s newscast, Knight View, at the beginning of this school year. The first semester was a rollercoaster for me – both in terms of the show and my personal life. I had to adapt to the workload of junior year and the common social issues. At first, I loved working on the show and was happy to do it, even if it meant staying up into the hours of the early morning on Fridays to edit. I worked on at least one segment or story each week, in addition to planning out the show, writing scripts for our anchors and editing the entire show together each week; I was always eager to work.

Initially, the sacrifices I made didn’t seem like a big deal. Not studying for a test and not doing well on it would’ve previously crushed my spirits, but since I had Knight View, I didn’t care as much. But over time, my motivation plummeted. I realized what was happening to my grades and I didn’t know how to fix them. I was so determined to make Knight View something that people cared about and wanted to watch that it became my top priority and I lost sight of my other passions and aspirations. 

Upon that realization, I began to dread the very thing that I was planning my future around. I fell completely out of love with the newscast. When teachers would ask me about the most recent episode I’d usually tell them it wasn’t my best work, and it wasn’t. My motivation continued to drop, along with my grades. I had no drive to do anything, even regular schoolwork.

It got to a point where I had to ask for help, something which turned out to be much harder than I expected. I had to step outside of everything I was doing and evaluate how I was balancing my schoolwork and Knight View. I went to my co-producer before I went to anyone else. I talked to her about how I was feeling and she was incredibly understanding. We came to the consensus that it would be best if I took a break from working on the show. All I did for a little while was write scripts and plan out the show, with no editing and no projects. I’m incredibly grateful that I had amazing support from my team and staff during that time. When I tapped out, my co-producer was there to tap in and I’m extremely grateful she was there for me. She wasn’t just there to pick up my slack; she was also there for me as a friend. 

I managed to salvage most of my grades before the first semester ended, but they still weren’t where I wish they were. The holiday break followed my intermission from Knight View, and I had a little over a month to take a break and re-evaluate how I was balancing my life. I decided that I was going to stop pushing myself past my limits just for the sake of the show. I realized that a good episode wasn’t as meaningful if I was unhappy with myself and my grades. 

Although burnout was terrifying for me, I learned a lot as a result of it. I don’t know if I’d say I’m grateful I experienced burnout, but I’m grateful for the lessons I learned from it. I learned that trying to do everything on my own was incredibly inefficient, especially if I had people that were willing to help. Asking for help is something I always struggled with, but now I know that it’s okay to ask for help when I need it. I’m still learning how to balance everything, but I’m back to loving what I do.