In the wise words of Justin Timberlake, cry me a river. Juniors, March is finally over, so we can all finally dry our tears.

Any junior will probably agree with me when I say March is madness. As time goes on, assignments continue to pile up, and as the school year draws to a close, teachers are cramming. As students, we’re just trying to keep up. With the increasing amount of work stress, the term “Junior Cry Month” is quite literal.

As we get older, our responsibilities become more serious. We are handling more stress than we ever thought we were capable of handling. Between extra-circulars, sports, jobs, outside events, and school work, it’s nearly impossible to meet all the expectations placed on high school juniors.

After talking with junior Lorraine Jones, I came to realize just how bad some students have it. Her schedule begins with track every day after school. On Tuesdays she goes right from track to SAT prep, bringing her day to a close around 9:00 p.m. But it’s not over yet: Hours of homework for all of her advanced classes must be completed. Working every day and continuing her SAT prep, Jones knows the weekends will also be dedicated to juggling her full schedule.

Trying to balance all these different responsibilities is overwhelming for me, too. At times, it doesn’t even seem possible. Learning how to manage my busy work schedule, school, homework and social life has been challenging. In fact, there is so much going on I hardly have time for the one thing that should be a top priority: sleep. Too often sleep is last on the list. There is so much to do in one day, but there is never enough time to do it. Sleep is sacrificed for homework. 2:00 a.m. is the new 10:00 p.m. for me.

SHS students are warned about junior year from the moment they walk through the doors, but I don’t think anyone really knows for sure just how bad it will be. However, in the end, juniors are learning how to deal with it all in their own way.