Life can be hard. School can be hard. Simply getting up every day can be hard. Students globally are facing this issue, especially with the negative added impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. In my community in Orange County, I have seen or heard countless experiences that contribute to this overarching issue. Children, especially in high school and middle school, struggle under the lengthy academic stress and pressures of the education system, in addition to all the typical struggles of growing up there has been an increase in pressure on students to do the right things to get into the right colleges, land the best internships, perform the most extracurriculars, and strain themselves more than they can handle to prepare for the “real world.” Students try to do it all, but it does not go without a heavy toll on their mental health. Many students spend their day at school and then participate in extracurriculars after school just to get home and do hours of homework until they finally go to sleep at unhealthy hours.  The education system is a vital part of every child’s life, but it needs to establish boundaries that consider the hardship of being a student and the mental health struggles that come with it.

Furthermore, that is why allotted mental health days could be so beneficial to the education system and all students. Depending on the length of their school year, the number of given days could vary according to the school. Frequently students have those days where they wish they could just stay home and catch up on their work or rest for a day. When this happens, many students will just skip school or be forced to go and be miserable all day. By implementing allotted mental health days, students could take the time they need to recharge and improve their well-being to be the best student possible. Because of the way the education system has grown makes it extremely difficult to miss even a single day of school due to in-class assignments, homework, tests, or projects. Students could work with their teachers on what they need to get done when they're back from their mental health day, but they should be given time to make it up, just as a regular absence would be. When students are in a bad place and have to go to school, they perform worse; therefore, staying home and doing what is best for them is beneficial for all parties involved, and why mental health days should be required for all schools.