While I often pride myself on the exceptional sleep I get every night, I’ve noticed a downward trend on the hours I’ve received rest, following the start of junior year. Undoubtedly this has been my busiest school year yet, and we’ve only just passed the six week grading period. Working two jobs, having sports practice every day, taking APs, and planning events with ASB are all factors which I’ve had to learn to balance–with less sleep becoming a sacrifice I’ve had to make. When I can, it’s my priority to schedule myself accordingly in order to get to bed at a time which my body is used to. Some days when homework is lighter or I don’t have work, a good night’s rest is possible. However, during busier times of the year such as the weeks leading up to Homecoming, it’s absolute chaos. With the addition of lip sync, corner meetings, powerpuff practices, and organizing Homecoming court onto my regular schedule, I found myself more drained by the day. With a lack of sleep, I simply can’t function properly. While in class I’ll start dozing off against a wall, when attempting to do homework my eyes will start closing, and the yawns are never ending. When thinking about days where I’ve been super irritated, sad, or stressed, it always correlates to the previous night’s sleep and how much later I got into bed. Ultimately, it’s been very challenging navigating a busy life, but the scariest thing of all is losing precious time to replenish my body and mind.
