Being an adult is hard, but being a teen is, too. Seniors at a California high school were having a hard time managing all of the tests and expectations as they prepared for college.
Their psychology teacher, Brett Phillips, decided to give them a different kind of homework assignment. It was a list of 101 ways to cope with stress.
Alina Ramirez was so moved by the list that the student posted it on social media. Since then, it was shared nearly 30,000 times.
Phillips has given it to his students for the past 10 years. He never expected homework to go viral.
"I give students the list, and then I have them pick five things that they need to start doing to lower their stress levels," he said.
Ramirez now carries the list around in her binder so she can look at it whenever she gets overwhelmed.
"He knows how stressed we are with school, sports, work, and life in general, so he gave us the paper to help us, just to have in case we are stressed," Ramirez said. "It has impacted a lot of people. Honestly, his list has helped me a lot."
Phillips knows how important it is to deal with stress instead of ignoring it. His father suddenly died of a heart attack on the school football field because he didn't manage it well.
"I do a lot of the things on the list to enjoy life more myself," Phillips said. "Life's short — too much stress will make it even shorter!"
Please SHARE if you think this list is a fantastic idea that others teachers should assign!
