“11:11! Make a wish!” 

At 11:11, my world  pauses, and I reflect. 

 Throughout high school, I’ve dealt with stress from homework, sports, jobs, friends, and extracurriculars. I kept hearing the same advice to manage it all, keep time for yourself, don’t overwhelm yourself, and try not to get behind. Those words quickly became an insistent buzz of what I didn’t want to hear. 

In high school, life never slows down. High schoolers have around four hours of free time per night, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, after homework, school, and sleep, sports, clubs, jobs, and socializing need to be factored in. So where do you have time for yourself? 

After feeling buried alive for months I discovered that the one minute I stopped to pause was when I was making an 11:11 wish.This one minute became a ritual that changed my mindset around each day. 

Reflection and journaling can improve academic performance, emotional regulation, and cognitive retention, according to the National Institutes of Health. Even a minute of informed mindfulness can improve anxiety and stress, according to The Journal of School Psychology. Informal mindfulness encourages students to incorporate small moments of awareness into everyday life, according to The Journal of School Psychology. 

This is why the time 11:11 makes such a difference. It doesn’t take much free time, skill, or commitment. It is just a minute, 60 seconds, that creates a small opportunity to recognize and understand stress, and then move through it. 

Although one minute cannot replace a bad grade, or rewrite your past, it can remind us what we are worth and change the trajectory of your day. 

So when the clock strikes 11:11 take a moment, close your eyes, and don’t wish for something better, but walk through how far you have come.