The other day I saw a photo on Twitter; I have no idea whether it is valid, but it said, “High school students in 2013 have the same anxiety levels as insane asylum patients in the 1950s.”

Maybe it’s just me, but that sounds slightly worrying. Also, I wouldn’t doubt it and that’s what’s truly scary for me. I feel like it really could be true.

Yes, I’m sure students in the ’50s were under stress. Racial tensions were high and halfway through the decade, the nation went to war in Vietnam, which caused so many social problems and controversies it’s crazy.

Yet today, students are under a lot of stress, too. Gay marriage, gender equality and feminism, and the legalization of marijuana are hot topics on the national level.

College is becoming more and more competitive to get into, and more and more expensive to pay for. A bachelor’s degree is the new high school diploma.

The American Dream of getting a college degree and getting straight into the work force and working your way up the social ladder is no longer a reality for many people.

And every high school student is staring his or her future in the face. Instead of opportunity, we see debt. Dollar signs do not represent what we will make, but what we will owe.

Without scholarships, I would have to pay nearly a quarter of a million dollars for a bachelor’s degree. Then, I would have to pay another one hundred grand for graduate school.

A high school student is extremely lucky to make $9 an hour. This means I would have to work more than three years straight without breaks and without sleep to pay for my bachelor’s degree.

Also, because everyone needs to be so “PC,” people get offended at the simplest things when another says something that could be taken the wrong way in the slightest bit. I am constantly worrying about what I say and who will hear me.

I feel like depression and anxiety run ramped among teenagers. Or maybe, crazy is just simply the new normal.