Junior Paityn Reens was once hit with a plastic hockey stick.

In seventh grade, that is. In the process, she broke her nose and was told that she was the first and worst injury of the year.

Instead of being scared or stressed, Paityn was proud of the injury she had received.

“I think that people shouldn’t worry that much about stuff,” Paityn said. “I know my sister and a lot of my friends, they get really stressed about things.”

Ever since sophomore year, Paityn has tried to live by this idea of staying calm and relaxed. She started then because she understood that high school was hard work, but if she did her best, she would be okay.

“I prefer to take a more relaxed approach to [life],” Paityn said. “I get stressed too, but [you shouldn’t] spend all of your time studying or worrying about the grades you get on a test.”

Paityn works at McDonalds, has a little sister, participates in PACE club and HOSA, and takes many AP classes as well. Paityn does all of this and still tries her best to stay as calm as an old, meandering creek.

Due to this heavy workload, however, this cannot always be true.

Paityn has a few methods to help with the stress that wiggles into her mind.

“Honestly, if you’re getting stressed about homework or something,” Paityn said, “you might think the best idea is to just finish it, but I would put it to the side for a second, maybe take a nap or watch a show on Netflix and then just come back to it once you’ve calmed down a little bit.”

Despite the belief many have that you should try to get everything done as quickly as possible, Paityn believes you should instead take a break to reduce stress.

Another thing that helps Paityn stay calm is the thing she likes most about FHC: friends.

Over the years, Paityn has made many good connections with the people around her, and, through those connections, she has made friends.

Although it is hard due to everyone’s personal lives and after-school commitments, Paityn and her friends try their best to make time for each other. When they do, and they recognize that one of them is worrying, they try to calm the others down.

Even though her friends stress out more than Paityn themselves, they still are a great support group for her.

“If I get stressed about something,” Paityn said, “then [my friends] tell me that it’s not worth being stressed about and it’s all good. That helps me look at it from a different perspective.”

With the help of her friends, she has so far managed to remain the calm person she aims to be.

Relating to her thoughts about stress and to the help her friends have given her, Paityn has decided, as of now, what she wants to do with her life. She wants to help others relieve stress by becoming a psychologist.

“I think the point of a psychologist is to help someone work through their problems,” Paityn said. “That includes helping people work through their stress.”

No matter what is happening, or where her future will lead her, Paityn is trying her best to stay positive and keep herself—and those around her—as unstressed as possible.

“You just [have to] go with the flow,” Paityn said. “If you put forth your best effort, you’ll get what you need.”