High school is the most stressful point yet in our young lives. Now certainly, as our life goes on, we will experience moments where we wish we were back in high school. High school also has plenty of fun times to go along with the work, but every year tends to get harder for us. Of course that’s intended, as schools are slowly preparing us for the real world. We learn traits which will hopefully make our future less stressful.

Being a teenager entails that you will have problems outside of school, too. Relationship problems, friend drama, family issues, and the occasional existential crisis will always perturb our minds in this vulnerable period of development. These factors only pile on to the issues we already go through academically in high school to push some of us close to the edge.

Students need something to balance out the stress of school. Sometimes they have no where to run as it feels like everyone turns against them. Perhaps even their family has alienated them. What they need is someone who is there for them every day, who they can find whenever. That person can often be a teacher.

Teachers vary greatly in how they interact with students. Some keep it professional, some are characters that keep the class lively and interested. Then there are the select few who can become more than a teacher, and perhaps even a friend.

Anyone working as a teacher obviously has more experience than us high schoolers. They’ve gone through college, the stress of looking for work, and dealing with relationships on a scale far above our own. They know how the real world works, and their advice and experience in that area is invaluable.

It helps to have these people to talk to when your own times get rough. Teachers know just about everyone, but are always aloof when it comes to drama. They are one of the few people who can offer advice without bias, and a voice of reason in an ocean of hormones.

The safety a classroom can provide can do wonders for a student. Not only can they talk to an adult they trust whenever they have a problem, but it works as a helpful utility in almost any everyday situation. Sometimes you have no reason to be in a class, or to go to some silly pep rally. So of course your favorite teacher will understand, and you have that place to go and get some work done or just help around the classroom.

It also certainly feels noteworthy that a teacher will say hi to you so readily. When a teacher feels that he/she can trust you, self-confidence takes a couple steps up. When someone who seems responsible and worth idolizing considers you a good person, it’s a boon to self-acceptance.

So make sure to take time to get to know your teachers. Some of them aren’t as bad as they seem at first, and with a little time you may end up trusting them more than anyone you know. It certainly helps, because without their teachings you wouldn’t make it anywhere in life, so maybe it’s worth trusting their guidance as well.