Not wanting to embarrass anyone else, I’ll use myself as an example. It’s not often that I miss a day of school, though I will say I’ve missed more than I’ve wanted to. I’m usually at school around eight in the morning and leave by 2:30 because I have early out. I work an average of twenty-seven hours a week at the Humota Theatre and usually have some involvement with the fall musical or spring play. Most of my free time accounts to the three hours after school that I have to get ready for work or the mornings or evenings on weekends, depending on which shift I’m working that week. Another variable in the mix is what movie we’re showing that week. For longer movies like Harry Potter or Catch Me If You Can, an evening shift could go past one in the morning. This, of course, can cut into sleeping time, especially if there’s school the next day. I try to get in a meal before I go to work, however most days my dinner consists of pop and popcorn while working.
Thirty-seven and a half hours at school, twenty seven hours at work or working on the drama productions, about forty-nine hours worth of sleep, and prep and travel time adds up to about 115 hours out of my typical week. This leaves me only 53 hours. This may seem like a lot, but if you divide it down, it’s only an average of seven and a half hours a day, though I actually have more free time on weekends than weekdays. Together, it’s a lot, but spread out over the week, it’s not all that much, and there are many students who are involved in more activities than I am.
Teachers and parents could use this to say we have plenty of time to finish our projects or housework, but a half hour here and there over the course of a day doesn’t give many opportunities to finish much of anything. As high school students, our schedules may be as busy as they’ll ever be in our entire life, and is often times more hectic than that of our parents who are generally less involved and have more free time. For those of us who are so active, we’re not being lazy when we’re just lulling about the house; we’re just recharging.
