My morning starts the same way every day. I wake up at 5:15 am. I feed my cat, turn on my TV, do my hair, do my makeup, get dressed and eat breakfast. I leave for school at 7:45.

The bell rings, I go to first hour, sit and work. The bell rings, I go to the second hour, sit and work. The bell rings and rings, and I shuffle from class to class.

I go home and do homework before eating dinner. After I finish homework while watching TV and go to bed at 9. That’s my day, doing the same actions at the same times every day, all week.

Many high school students fall into similar routines with their day consisting of completing the task at hand and moving on to the next.

In recent years and throughout history, students connect their high school lives to the increased amounts of stress,  disappointment and general unhappiness.

Yes, living life by the bell can create confining situations where students feel the pressures of limited time and large responsibilities, but school is more than just living by the bell if you.

The main goal of the school is to educate. Students are there to learn. While keeping that purpose in mind, school can be so much more. School is a community of people, friends, and teachers. This community has clubs, groups, activities, and teams. This community has so many opportunities for life to be enriched rather than detracted.  

Friends provide a sense of community; ultimately that’s what school is. The people sitting in class next to you are going through the same motions. They have stories and lives that are much different yet in many ways similar. Talking and creating friendships strengthen the overall community.

Our teachers are not there to make our lives worse. They want us to learn and they want us to be successful. Classes may be challenging, but it’s not because they want us to fail. We need to realize this.

What seems difficult now in high school, will seem easy later. It’s the practice and work we put into school now that creates the skills for the feature. Teachers want to help and if asked will help.

Teachers, friends, and others in our school are all guides, guiding us to where our place in the community is. Who we befriend and the subjects we enjoy lead us to the extracurriculars we participate in.

School is what each individual makes out of it. It doesn’t have to be going through the motions. Filling school with friends, teachers, clubs and more makes school a place where students want to be.

I may be living by the bell, but I’m not going through the motions. I’ve chosen to open my eyes to all that my school experience can be and choose to fill it with everything that I can.

When I get to school, the halls are flooded with people walking to lockers and standing with friends. It’s loud and full of laughter. I find my friends. When the bell rings and we shuffle into class, my teacher greets me.

The bell rings for each period and onto the next class we move. The walk is filled with hellos and smiles while I pass friends and others I know.

The bell rings and the final classes of the day come to a close. I walk to my locker and see my friends. On Tuesdays, I go to Family Community Career Leaders of America (FCCLA) and Wednesdays I go to Student Council.  We talk, get our stuff and go to our cars. We stop and talk outside, not wanting to leave school just yet.

On the surface, my days might look all the same. It’s the same as everyone else at West, but following the bell and doing the motions are only a small part of life at school.

There’s more beneath the surface. Friends, teachers, and organizations make up this community that I call school.  It can cause stress and anxiety but it can be fun, comfortable and enjoyable too. What you choose to fill the time between the bells with is up to you.