School Paper Articles

Aaliya’s Contribution to the School Newspaper 

Ascend International School, located in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. It encourages students to be curious, think independently, explore new ideas, and understand different points of view. 

The school’s student newspaper, The Ascent, shares stories about school life, sports, culture, and events in Mumbai and beyond. It allows students to express their ideas, develop their writing skills, and share their views with the school community. 

Aaliya Moorjani contributes to the school paper, reflecting her interests beyond squash and her engagement with writing and communication. 

The Badges of Burnout: Why Students Romanticise the Daily Misery

~ Aaliya Moorjani

It is 11:47 pm. A student is sitting at their desk, laptop open, half-finished notes beside them, and tomorrow's test still waiting. They know they should probably sleep, but something is reassuring about seeing the work slowly disappear on their to-do list. One more assignment finished. One more box checked. One more reason to feel like they are doing enough. 

The next morning, the conversation starts instinctively: "How much work do you have?" Someone mentions three tests. Someone mentions an IA, two assignments and a presentation. Instead of asking whether anyone slept, the conversation becomes a comparison of who has more to do. 

For many students, being tired, overwhelmed and constantly occupied has become almost synonymous with being successful. But when did being busy become something we are proud of? 

Modern society has shifted from valuing leisure as a status symbol to valuing work as one. In the past, wealth could be shown by not having work to do; today, importance can be shown by having too much to do. 

The issue is not simply that students have a lot of work. It is that having a lot of work to do can become something we use to measure our own worth. 

The mindset becomes especially visible when students talk about the IBDP. Among students, a kind of "DP Myth" has prevailed, building a familiar idea: you have to suffer to succeed. The phrase is repeated so often that it almost stops being questioned. Late nights have become a sign of dedication, and exhaustion is treated as proof of ambition. But does struggling more necessarily mean succeeding more? Working hard may involve sacrifice, but suffering is not a requirement for achievement. 

This mindset extends beyond DP. In India, where competition can feel like a second language, students constantly hear about someone else's marks, university plans or achievements. Grade 10 board examinations can intensify this pressure, making sleep and free time feel less valuable than an hour of revision. There is always another chapter to complete, another paper to practice and another student who seems to be doing more. Comparison is never-ending; there is always something you haven't done. 

Over time, productivity can become tied to self-worth. Instead of asking whether they have done what they need to do, students begin wondering whether they have done enough compared to everyone else. There is no clear finish line when success is measured this way. 

Breaking this cycle does not mean that students should stop working hard. It means recognising that ambition and well-being do not have to compete. Schools can coordinate deadlines, while students can create a more supportive environment by sharing their experiences without comparing workloads. Older students, too, can also be honest about DP's challenges while reassuring younger students that exhaustion does not have to be an inevitable part of success. 

Ultimately, being busy is not automatically being productive, and being exhausted is not proof of ambition. Perhaps the next time someone asks, "How much work do you have?", we should stop comparing our workloads and ask a more meaningful question: "How are you doing?"