A day in the life of an O’GORMAN
Student
By Elizabeth Jones
Elizabeth is a senior at O’Gorman High School where she is the editor in chief of the student newspaper The Knight Scroll, collaborates on the yearbook and is a member of the Nationally ranked Oral Interp team. High school: a whirlwind of homework, tests, grades, friendships and a bunch of teenagers trying to grow up. Looking back at my first day of high school in August 2018, I can say with certainty that time flies even when the day to day feels slow. I imagine that most high schoolers across the U.S. have a similar Monday-Friday routine of waking up, getting ready and then running out the door, sitting through classes, participating in after school activities, coming home to do homework, going to bed (but not quite getting eight hours of sleep) and then repeating it all over again and again. I’ll admit that this routine becomes monotonous but, especially as I approach graduation this coming Spring, I’ve grown to appreciate my days and routine at O’Gorman High School. There is so much more to being an O’Gorman student than first meets the eye. For me, and most of my classmates, the mornings are an opportunity to gather with friends to review last-minute notes before a test, make weekend plans or just talk about something random. Nearly everyday my friends and I will quickly touch base before the first bell rings. Just about everyone else does this with their friends, too. Talking to friends is, in my experience, a way to get into a positive mood before the school day begins. Of course, our mornings also consist of caffeine. I am not a morning person at all, so I need my coffee in order to be awake enough to take notes and pay attention to an 8:05 class. Usually I’m running late so I just grab a protein shake with coffee in it to drink on the way to school, or if I have time, I make coffee at home. But, on a good day, I leave a little early to treat myself with Starbucks (aka sugary, caffeinated loveliness). Water is the only beverage allowed during school, so if you walk into O’Gorman between 7:50 and 8:00, you are bound to see several students gulping down the last few sips of their Starbucks or Caribou drink before tossing the cup in the trash and heading to class. I find that comforting because I know, for better or worse, I am not alone in my possibly-budding caffeine addiction.
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