Ames High School - Spirit Yearbook (Ames, IA)

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:K. Kathleen Brewer It could make us choke in the middie of important soeeches; it made us shake with fear before finals; sometimes it even de- stroyed our relationships. The dark force preyed on students regardless of GPA or year. We feared it, we hated it, we looked for ways to deal with if ana we called it - stress. A lot of stress experienced by students dealt with ap- pearing before groups, es- pecially those filled with un- familiar faces. | was stressed at my first voice recital, junior Sara Scholten said. A lot of peo- ple are watching you and you don't know them. Working toward a good cu- mulative grade point in or- der to be accepted at an exclusive university also cre- ated tension in students’ lives. If. you're trying to get into MII Stanford or Harvard and you don’t get good TRESS Riding the emotional rollercoaster of tension and learning to cope “If youre trying ተዕ get into M.I. T., stanford or Harvard and you don't get good enough grades, They're not going fo let you in.” -Aaron Fultz, senior enough grades, they re not going to let you in, senior Aaron Fultz said. Stress didn't always come from the need fo achieve, as sophomore Eva Seiler found out. She kept her rela- tionship with an older man a secret from her mother for a year and a half. | was seeing him all the time and my mom didn't know about it,” Seiler said. It was real stressful . . . | finally had to say, ‘Forget it. This is |. | can't have a relationship with you anymore because its unhealthy for me and YOU. — Other students also searched for ways to cope with stress, A common relief from tension was physical exercise or listening to mu- SIC. | do active exercise, like shooting baskets in the backyard or throwing darts. Then lie in bed and listen ተዕ music - that'll usually do it for me,” senior Tim Kniker said. senior Paul Shevokas said that he dealt with stress just by relaxing and thinking about all the good things he had going for him. stress came and went with college plans, grade cards and finals. As students con- tinued to ride the emotional rollercoaster of tension, they searched for ways to cope. Sometimes the cure was ex- ercise, sometimes it was found in music and some- times they just took a close look and found it within themselves. L ike many students, freshman Danny Wilson listens to music in order to deal with his stress. (Photo by Sarah Jons)

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Mike Stimley High school was not always about facts and figures, but about people. It was about friends and memorable ex- periences. High school wouldn't be anything without the social stuff, sophomore Heidi shierholz said. Your friends help you get through prob- lems, and they're fun to be with.” Having fun didnt always mean throwing a party or going out on the town. Sen- ior Dave Strahan defined o friend as someone you can do nothing with, though occasionally he and his friends found more creative ways To entertain them- selves. Strahan's mother, a psychia- trist, was away in Minnesota when a strange visitor knocked on the door of their home. The visitor was Stra- nans friend, senior Kevin Fehr, dressed as a patient and reportedly seeking psy- chiatric treatment. “You learn almost anything you can learn about life from your friends.” -Brian White, senior —— n Kevin started laughing,” Strahan said, and | thought ne was going to kill me. Friends could also be the biggest supporters. “A friend is someone who's wiling to believe you and help you out when yourre in need,” freshman Sean EL Hout said. Its someone who cares. support could sometimes De given simply through lending an ear. A friend is someone you can feel comfortable with,” junior Renee Clapp said. You would be able to fell them anything, even if it wasn't important. dL ` E Z in LR E - ይመ ቁ oud መቁ አኢ 2 474 s ... . ም | Eo EZ ees e rd Zeg 2 ፍጭ ata dx edi g f sge - E » - - , ቃ M LJ A ipie 1 | hera 2-““ሚጠስ 2 LE - ep ኣ 8 - pem Os ud ee, E LEO p = ው pue —LÀ Ra “ከ is e 4 . Te - 6 o - e % 5 a Han » iJ - $ sé 2% Tossa . M fhua =? IL bd v ES e s - -- £ ሚድን ———— rap | RIENDSHIPS provide fun and support, high school bearable making Most friends tended to stick together through high school. But with changing in- terests came changing friendships. “Sometimes you meet friends that have more of your own interests, junior Melanie Stover said. Other friends will change interests, so you won't see them a lot anymore.” Although graduation often separated friends, it did not necessarily end friendships. And the influence of friends carried on. “You learn almost anything you can learn about life from your friends,” senior Bri- an White said. Through the daily grind, stu- dents found that friends pro- vided support, advice ana most importantly, fun! ርን n a Friday night, junior Mark stenberg and freshman Sam Johnston play pool in Stenberg's basement. (Photo by Anne John- ston) Friends Student Life 24

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ነሃ orking 20 hours a week at The Purple Peacock adds pressure to senior Julie Thompson's already busy schedule. (Photo by Jayna Jarnagin) oing some last-minute cram- ming for his French | test is a real tension-builder for sophomore steve Beaudry. (Photo by Matt McGrigg) A sixth period Physics B Lab gives junior Peg Rohovit a chance to | catch up on her daily assignments. | (Photo by Anne Johnston) | | order to relieve his stress, junior Matt Zbaracki shoots a few hoops | at the Ames High ወሃጠ after school. | (Photo by Tari Moats) | . Stress Student Life 23