Student Blog: Balancing Midterms & Acting

Balancing midterms at a performing arts high school while being in productions and pursuing acting is one of the most challenging things I’ve ever had to do. Especially right now, the beginning of spring. Some days, it feels like I’m living two different lives. One where I’m working hard to keep up with world history, English, and math, and another where I’m pouring my heart into acting classes and rehearsals for 1776 and Juliet & This Guy Romeo. It’s exciting and rewarding, but it can also be overwhelming and stressful. Over time, I’ve learned that finding motivation, getting enough rest, and trusting in myself are some key factors to making it all work.

Let’s start with school. World history is fascinating (me and my dad are history buffs, so I really do love this stuff), but also a lot to handle. Right now, we’re studying major civilizations up until about the 16th century. Learning about how empires rose and fell, how cultures influenced each other, and how societies were shaped by politics and economics. It’s a ton of information to memorize, especially during midterms when we’re expected to write essays and connect all these ideas together, and read that big, big, BIG textbook everyday at 7:30 in the morning. English has me currently diving deep into Romeo & Juliet analysis and writing note cards and annotated bibliographies for papers that can feel like they take forever. And math? Well, I'm getting a lot better at it, but it's not really my thing. It's a different kind of challenge compared to acting. Balancing all these subjects with my acting commitments is tough, especially when everything seems to pile up at once.

Then there’s acting class, which is a whole other world. It’s not just learning lines or blocking scenes and having fun, it’s about understanding your character on a deeper level and bringing them to life in an authentic way. My acting teacher works incredibly hard to have us dig into the depths of our creativity and talents to create something. But some days, after spending hours working on homework for a class like English, I feel completely drained. And then I remember that I still have more homework waiting for me at home...

The productions are definitely the biggest part of my life right now. Being in two different shows (1776 and Juliet & This Guy Romeo), can sometimes be a little challenging. In 1776, I’m part of this serious historical drama where I need to convey the grief and loss of my friends to the firing of British guns, which makes my words feels important and weighty. Then in Juliet & This Guy Romeo, it’s all about goofy comedy, romance, and silly moments where nothing makes sense. I get to weird and argue with old people on the internet in this production, which is really fun but a little challenging to commit time to when there's so many other things to do. Switching between these two plays every day is like flipping a mental switch: one moment I’m delivering letters to the Continental Congress after watching my friends die; the next, I’m delivering protest tweets to Lady Capulet over Twitter.

Rehearsals for both productions are nonstop. Some days, I have back-to-back rehearsals that leave barely any time for schoolwork or even relaxing, because the Juliet & This Guy Romeo rehearsals take place in school. On those days, fitting in time to study feels almost impossible. I’ve found ways to make it work. Whether it’s reviewing history notes during breaks or practicing math problems backstage while waiting for my cue, I’ve learned how to use every spare moment wisely.

One thing that helps me stay on top of everything is to set alarms in my Google Keep app to notify me when it's time to do stuff, or when I have a free moment to do it. This includes when assignments are due, when rehearsals are scheduled, and when I can carve out some time for myself. Things don’t always go according to plan (because life happens or we get sidetracked, and that's completely okay), but having some kind of structure makes me feel less stressed.

Another thing that has made a huge difference is making sure I get enough sleep. When you’re busy all the time, it’s tempting to stay up late finishing homework or memorizing lines, but trust me, that only makes things worse in the long run (I've been doing it wayyyyyy too much this past weekend, it's not worth it). If I don’t get enough rest, everything feels harder: schoolwork takes longer, rehearsals feel more exhausting, and even acting class can become frustrating instead of fun. I try to prioritize sleep, even if it means putting off homework until tomorrow morning or a little earlier than I usually wake up, because being well-rested helps me stay focused and energized.

Believing in myself has also been really important during these stressful times. There are days when it feels like nothing is going right, like I’ll never finish all my assignments or figure out how to nail that emotional scene tonight in rehearsal. But, reminding myself that I can handle hard things keeps me going. Encouragement from others and loved ones always help, too. By a lot. Sometimes you have to step back and remember why you’re doing all this in the first place. For me, it’s because performing makes me happy, it’s what I love. Even though balancing schoolwork with acting can be overwhelming sometimes, it’s worth it.

Even though midterms make everything feel extra stressful right now, there are moments that remind me why I push through all the chaos. Like when a scene finally comes together during rehearsal or when I do well on a history test after studying hard—it shows me that all this effort really does pay off in the end. Being at a performing arts high school has taught me how to face challenges and find balance even when life feels completely chaotic or insane.

So, balancing midterms with productions and acting isn’t easy at all. But through it all, I’ve learned how important it is to find motivation, get enough rest, and believe in myself, even when things feel impossible sometimes. Every day brings new challenges between studying textbooks and memorizing scripts or solving math problems while figuring out colonial dialects. But somehow, it all comes together in the end.