Competition is a staple of Lexington High School culture. It’s well known that competition is healthy in moderation: it pushes you to do your best to reach your full academic potential and is a strong source of motivation for students to reach their goals. However, too much of it can do the opposite. At a school where many of our lives revolve around academics, competition bleeds into our social lives and school community, threatening our mental health with constant discussion of grades, extracurriculars, class difficulties, standardized test scores, and so on. It is likely always going to be a massive part of the LHS experience, but being more mindful of its impact on our personal lives might be more beneficial, and even relieve some of the stress that comes with being a student at this school.

Recently, I’ve noticed that a lot of people post about their grades on social media, or at the very least, frequently discuss them. I think it’s great to be proud of your grades, but there’s a fine line between being proud and bragging–a line that is very easy to cross. I’m guilty of this myself, but I’ve found that whenever my friends and I start talking about our grades, we spiral into complaints upon complaints upon complaints about our academic performance. I hear other people complaining about it all the time at lunch, in the hallways, during free blocks, and pretty much anywhere students hang out. I’m not saying that discussing your grades is always bad, but I think it’s important to be mindful of the impact you might have on others when you complain about getting a 95 instead of a 96, while someone else might be struggling in the same class. When people flaunt their grades, even subtly, it drives a wedge between students who will naturally compare themselves to others, hoping to “outcompete” their peers.

Another thing I’ve seen taking a toll on many students’ mental health is the SAT. This usually only applies to upperclassmen, but it’s still a huge issue. As soon as people started practicing for the SAT this year, I felt like there was constantly something to compare myself to, and I was constantly wondering, “Why did they score so much higher than me on their first try? Why do I have to study so much more than everyone else?” By this point in the year, I’ve heard a lot of my peers expressing similar thoughts. But, at the same time, I’ve realized how important it is to remember that the SAT is by no means a measure of intelligence.

All of this ties into a more general idea that I think we as a school should keep in mind: everyone has a different academic experience than you, and equating comparing numbers on a page to comparing your intelligence is an ignorant way of thinking. Some people sacrifice their sleep for their grades. Some people have a million sports and debate tournaments to go to. It doesn’t make sense to use our grades as an equivalent to our self-worth or as a way for us to compare ourselves to everyone around us. As motivating as competition might be, we shouldn’t let it dictate our self-esteem and relationships with our peers.