{"id":18555,"date":"2026-02-11T07:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=18555"},"modified":"2026-02-11T07:43:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:43:29","slug":"2026-student-voice-climbing-out-of-the-slump-one-step-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/2026-student-voice-climbing-out-of-the-slump-one-step-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Voice: Climbing out of the slump, one step at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gavin Antonio, Kaiser High School<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Imagine this\u2013you\u2019re a high school student starting the second semester of the new year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s 8 p.m. With the amount of free time you\u2019ve allotted yourself, you decide it’s time to start studying early for a test you have at the end of the week. Perhaps you\u2019ve just finished a long shift at work or an exhausting sports practice. You just got off the two-week winter break, and all your classes are getting significantly harder. Finals, though a few months away, still loom over you, seemingly haunting the rest of your school year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For seniors, you’ve probably already submitted your college applications, and now it\u2019s just about grinding through the scholarship season and getting through the rest of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For juniors, you are constantly being bombarded by questions such as, \u201cHave you started studying for x\/y\/z?\u201d or, infamously, \u201cCan you drive yet?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And for the underclassmen, you might still be getting used to high school, or maybe you adjusted a while ago, and are only now starting to feel the difference. Homecoming festivities from the start of the year were far too long ago, and the holidays are all in the past. The next break is not for another three months. It seems as if there\u2019s no more energy, school spirit, or anything else to look forward to. What\u2019s the point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you know it, you haven\u2019t studied at all. You\u2019ve been scrolling. Scrolling through Instagram reels, TikTok videos, and your camera roll, with memories from the dreamy first semester. Now, it\u2019s 11:40 p.m. Time to sleep and try again tomorrow. Woefully, this is the reality for most students in our generation, and it\u2019s often a constant battle to keep pushing through.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If this experience sounds familiar, then you\u2019ve probably experienced what is known as a \u201csecond-semester slump,\u201d which is nothing to be ashamed of. This describes a time in the second semester when students struggle to put as much effort into school as they used to, already feeling burnt out or \u201cdone\u201d with the school year, desperately waiting for their summer break to \u201crecharge.\u201d This is typically seen in reduced motivation, not going to class, or, in some cases, simply giving up and letting assignments go undone. The two-week break often doesn\u2019t make students antsy to start the new semester; rather, it seems to demotivate them, knowing they\u2019ve only made it halfway through the year and that things are only going to get more difficult as the school year comes to a close. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, rather than fixating on these continuous struggles, some students agree that finding things that motivate them, no matter their size, can help them overcome their slump. In the first semester, many students are motivated by \u201cbig\u201d events, such as homecoming, fall break, the holidays, and winter break. Although there aren’t as many major events ahead, there\u2019s still plenty to look forward to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Banquets and proms are on their way, which means dressing up and dancing with friends. There are also spring sports, performances, competitions, the excitement of the school year coming to a close, and, of course, graduation. These moments give students something to work toward and celebrate together. Even if it’s nothing huge, simply having something to look forward to at the end of the day truly makes a difference. Whether that be the weekend, the end of the day when you get to eat dinner, or even just the end of a period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it may feel hard now, it\u2019s important to remember just to take it one day at a time. Even just telling yourself to \u201cgive it one more day\u201d can help. Step by step, you\u2019ll move forward, and even the busiest weeks will eventually pass. Focusing on what you can do today, rather than everything ahead, can make the semester feel much more manageable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ultimately, it doesn\u2019t matter which way you choose to climb out of this slump. Remember that it\u2019s completely normal to feel not only overwhelmed but also discouraged by everything the second semester throws at you. What matters most is choosing to move forward, even in small ways, and reminding yourself that brighter days and meaningful moments are still ahead. Keep moving\u2014one step at a time.       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gavin Antonio is a junior and an International Baccalaureate Diploma Candidate at <\/em>Kaiser High School<\/em><\/strong>. He serves as the recording secretary for the Hawai\u2019i State Student Council, student body vice president, and president of the Interact Club. Gavin is involved in numerous extracurricular activities across various fields, including color guard, winter guard, VEX V5 robotics and track and field. Gavin hopes to highlight, represent\u00a0 and bring forth the perspective of as many areas of student life as possible.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gavin Antonio, Kaiser High School Imagine this\u2013you\u2019re a high school student starting the second semester of the new year.  It\u2019s 8 p.m. With the amount of free time you\u2019ve allotted yourself, you decide it’s time to start studying early for a test you have at the end of the week. Perhaps you\u2019ve just finished […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":18560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"856,888,893,1022,1619,1622","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,21,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hoohaaheo","category-news","category-student-voice"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":22,"label":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo"},{"value":21,"label":"News"},{"value":51,"label":"Student Voice"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kaiser-HS-Homecoming-1024x512.jpg",1024,512,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Kim Yuen","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/author\/kimberly-yuenk12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":22,"name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","slug":"hoohaaheo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":69,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":22,"category_count":69,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","category_nicename":"hoohaaheo","category_parent":0},{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":308,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":308,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0},{"term_id":51,"name":"Student Voice","slug":"student-voice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":18,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":51,"category_count":18,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Student Voice","category_nicename":"student-voice","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-20 22:06:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}