By Audrey Cabaltica
By the last week of school, I longed for summer break. I planned to sleep in, wake up late, eat a relaxed brunch, and have lots of free time to play video games. So I did.
But after two weeks, I quickly got bored of cycling through the same three video games every day. I barely saw my friends since most of them were abroad. And even when I went out, it wasn’t much fun because I just went to all my usual favorite spots.
I do enjoy breaks from school, but they get boring if they’re longer than two weeks. Summer makes me feel unproductive and jobless, especially since I don’t do any summer camps like most of my classmates. I missed the structure school provides. I caught myself multiple times this summer just doomscrolling and doing absolutely nothing.
However, this summer, I accomplished what I set out to do, like passing my driver’s permit test, studying for my upcoming ACT test, and writing weekly articles. I tried looking for a part-time job, but most shops didn’t hire 16 year olds. I also visited New York for the first time and had fun bonding with my cousins there.
When my cousins found out I’m in my junior year, they all reacted negatively. My cousin who took 20 Advanced Placement classes said, “Yikes, that was the worst year of my life!”
I’ve repeatedly heard that junior year is the hardest year of high school because that’s when most students take standardized tests such as the ACT, PSAT, and SAT. Students also take the most Advanced Placement classes to boost their Grade Point Average in preparation for college applications.
After I got bored, I spent the rest of my summer looking forward to getting my preferred schedule and comparing it with all my friends to see if we got any classes together. Back to School season is one of my favorite times of the year because I get to see the order of my classes and start planning my days during school.
For Back to School, I love preparing my school supplies. A week or so before the first day of school, I like to choose my supplies and prepare all my stationary, folders, and notebooks. I clean out my backpack and rearrange my keychains or add new ones. I also plan my outfits for the entire first week of school. It’s fun shopping for new clothes.
On the first day of school, I was so happy to be back in a routine. With daily classes, I no longer had hours of downtime that made me unproductive. I finally had assignments I could work on to pass time in the afternoons instead of watching TV. School also fixed my sleep schedule. I sleep earlier and actually fall asleep within 30 minutes of lying down since I’m tired from school. I can also do homework when I wake up early on weekends and start the day productive.
The limited time between the end of school and the start of my field hockey practice actually makes me work faster. I try to complete all of my homework before practice, so that when I get home I can just relax. During the summer I would procrastinate writing articles and studying for the ACT because there was no one to enforce a deadline or punishment. In school, keeping my grades up motivates me to do well on my work and submit it on time.
Despite all the bad talk about it, I’m very excited for my junior year of high school. I look forward to being an upperclassman, going to Junior Prom, starting my Fil-Am club, being an officer of the Breakdance Club, and playing another year of field hockey.
My goal this year is to continue good time management and not let the stress get to me. Instead of viewing school as boring and a waste of time, I choose to make the most of it and to enjoy my time in high school. If I choose not to spend too much time worrying about my grades nor building up my résumé for college, junior year might end up being the best year, contrary to all expectations.
Audrey is a teen journalist and opinion editor of her school paper in Silicon Valley. She covers pop culture with her Filipino-American perspective.