Parents always want what’s best for us, right? That’s why they continuously pressure us to be our best. However, too much parental pressure can backfire when it comes to student performance.

As a high schooler, it seems like your whole life is dependent on how you do in these four years; four years of difficult tests, all-nighters and personal relationships. It’s exhausting when we, as teens, are expected to balance academics, athletics, personal life and somehow succeed in all of them. Sometimes, it just becomes a little too difficult because there is a fine line between parents caring, and caring too much. It becomes overwhelming and unmotivating if you have someone constantly bringing up your undecided future or mediocre grades.

In 2011, the Pew Research Center interviewed 29,100 students around the nation and asked them if their parents put too much pressure on them. In the United States, 11 percent of students believe their parents put too much parental pressure on them and a striking 68 percent of students in China believe the same.

It is overwhelming when our parents are always on our case about our grades and successes. We as students always have to remember our parents want what’s best for us and they love us unconditionally. They want us to make the most of the opportunities that we are given and to live our life to the fullest.

As a student, you have to know your limit and you have to know that just because you don’t get an A on a test or project, it means that you’re a failure. You have to know that the name of your college isn’t everything and your career or income doesn’t dictate how successful you are.

For parents, know that your son or daughter is trying their very best in everything and that there is no predetermined path for anyone. We all have to be cognizant of the direct and indirect pressure that we put on ourselves and each other in order to be the best person we can be.