Complaining v. Venting

Francesca BillingtonStaff WriterFrom the moment sophomore Natalie Hubbard steps on to campus, she listens to her friends’ complaints and concerns. According to Hubbard, students at Samo seem to complain more than usual, not necessarily to receive help, but in hopes of receiving sympathy. And although Hubbard sometimes finds herself complaining too, she sees her friends rant just for the sake of ranting, without the goal of a solution.The problem is not that students complain. According to senior Adrienne Hino, talking about your problems is important.“I think that the daily struggles that come with being in high school make it impossible to enjoy every minute of it, which is why it it's really important to have a good support system [that] you can vent to,” Hino said.According to sophomore Justin Nelson, people talking about what’s going on in their lives is not the issue—the problem lies in the way people go about it.“It is okay to talk about your problems every once in a while just to get them off of your chest,” Nelson said. “But there is a difference between talking about your problems, and  complaining about your problems.”Many students at Samo are taking difficult classes. Regardless of the classes, all students are attending the same school and having to deal with many of the same problems including homework, tests and other stressful activities. According to junior Angelina Hwang, it is not necessary to complain about everything.“It is understandable that people complain and we sympathize with each other, but if someone is always ranting, then it becomes annoying because we are all going through the same thing,” Hwang said. “By complaining all the time, you make it sound as if you have it the worst when in reality, it's happening to all of us.”Having empathy for others is a good thing, and in all honesty, ranting can help sometimes. According to junior Daniel Rotberg, it is perfectly understandable to complain sometimes because it can help, however there can be a limit.“It is important and acceptable to let your friends in on what you have been doing with your work,” Rotberg said. “However, some people can take it too far with the over exaggerations about how if they don’t get an A, they are a failure at life.”Aside from the in-person rants, students have been talking about their problems on social media sites, Facebook in particular. Common status updates include the amount of sleep the student is missing or how much work they have. Junior Rene Ross believes that these constant status updates can become too much after a while.“I have seen people complain on Facebook,” Ross said.  “I don’t really mind as long as they keep it short, but when people write whole paragraphs complaining about school, it becomes obnoxious.”According to senior Rachel Ricard, it is understandable to complain on Facebook, however many people do it simply to gain sympathy.“I think most people that complain about schoolwork on Facebook mainly do it just for the sake of complaining.” Ricard said, “Usually if someone wants help on their schoolwork that they’re overwhelmed by, they will just directly ask someone for help.”The amount of work students have at Samo can get out of hand, and according to Nelson, students that post the status updates can become irritating. Yet, they can also be somewhat comforting at times.“I would say that it is quite common to see people complain about school on Facebook, but [sometimes it gets] to the point where it gets annoying because you see it so much,” Nelson said.  “[However] every once in a while it is nice to see people complaining about not getting enough sleep, just to know you’re not the only one.”fbillington@thesamohi.com