Story So Far (Minus Interviews)

When a student doesn't get home until nine o'clock at night, how is this person supposed to study for a 70 point physics test, an AP government test, an AP statistics test, and also do their homework while also getting at least some sleep? It doesn't happen. I am guilty of being a student and doing this. I once had many tests on one day, and after getting home from Bravo practice and One Act practice at 10:30(practice started after school at 2:30), I realized there just wasn't enough time in the day to be a successful, healthy student and actress. It seems as if senior year is trudging along and becoming more and more stressful. Isn't senior year supposed to be one of the easiest years?

For many students apart of Eastview athletics and activities, the ever-so-popular "All Nighters" is becoming a growing trend. With students at EV taking more and more classes that entitle them to study more, like AP and CIS classes, my peers are becoming more and more sleep deprived. Eastview offers fourteen AP classes and three CIS classes run by the University of Minnesota. Taking two AP classes, Statistics and American Government, and also being a part of the school's Fall Play, Musical, One Act, Bravo, Dance Team, and student council, I know what it is like to have a "stressful" night at work preparing for tests I have the next day and also do my homework.

When I wake up in the mornings, I look at my schedule for the day that is hanging on my wall. I sometimes have multiple activities going on during the day, and at times, have to be in two places at once. Two weeks ago, I had tech week for the One Act Play, called Cut. Everyday me and my cast mates would wake up and be at school by 7:25. We would go to school, and when school was out, we would go to play practice which was from 2:40-6. This also happened to be the first week that Bravo was happening, so right after the One Act practice was complete we would hustle over to the choir room to learn choreography for multiple dances. We then would then have Bravo from 6-10, and get home around 10:30 at night. We finally had time to sit and relax and breathe actually, but we couldn’t fall asleep yet because we still had homework and studying to do.

Teachers at Eastview High School really encourage people to do their best in schools and also be participating in the arts, activities, and athletics. Yet, seemingly, the same teachers who do this also are the ones who push the most homework onto your plate. You could have your director or coach as a teacher during the day, and they give u homework to read almost 30 pages of a book. Then after school they become your director and tell you more what to do until they can’t tell you anymore. Then you go home, and they still are controlling your life it seems like because your then have to read the 30 pages they assigned earlier that day.

So, when I get home at 10:30 and pull out my homework, I looked and I had to read some pages for Shakespeare, do a physics worksheet, and study for a physics, stats, and Gov test. I didn’t think this would take very long. I opened up my book and started to read when I noticed my stomach was grumbling and realized I hadn’t ate since lunch that day, almost 12 hours earlier. So, by the time I ate and got back to homework it was almost midnight. I was starting to worry and get stressed out because it was almost two AM and I still had to study for my three tests the next day. I would have put off studying, but these three tests were very big, and I needed to study. I then hit the books. First, I reviewed all my physics handouts we had gotten from this unit to make sure I understood what was happening. I then went to study for statistics. I memorized the few formulas we had to, re-read the chapter, and made sure I understand how we get the p-value and everything else that was needed to ace the test.

I didn’t even want to look at the clock. I had though only two hours had gone by, but it was already almost 5:30 in the morning! I only had an hour to study for my government test, the one test I needed to do the best on. I started freaking out. I just couldn’t take the pressure of all these tests’ and Eastviews wanting students to exceed expectations and do the best on all there tests.