Though teachers and administration might not consider it to be one, students know that rolling out of bed and getting to class before the clock strikes 7:40 is an art. Over the years, some students have become masters of this craft in various ways. A few students lead a balanced life and have a regular sleep schedule, some race against the clock every morning, and, every so often, there are some who never went to bed to begin with. Everybody has their own recipe for the perfect morning routine. Underclassmen might have something to learn from CRHS’s resident efficiency experts: the senior class.

I am rather proud of my morning routine and my logical use of time. First, I wake up at 5:00 am sharp, even though I do not need to get up for another hour and a half. Instead of taking this time to sleep, I aimlessly scroll through Twitter, knowing that in approximately 5 hours I will refuse to accept that this is the reason why I’m so tired. After pretending that I haven’t glanced at my clock continuously since I woke up, I decide that 6:45 is a reasonable time to get up and start rushing. Of the next 15 minutes, I allocate 5 to showering, 5 to staring at myself in the mirror, and 5 either to do my eyebrows and give up or attempt to do full makeup and give up. To make up for my insignificant beauty shortcomings, I spend the next 10 minutes throwing everything in my closet onto my floor looking for a show-stopping outfit I know isn’t in there. After coming to terms with this, I throw on my usual jacket over my usual t-shirt and put on either my usual jeans or my usual joggers. At 7:17, I throw whatever individual trail mix components are in my house into a ziplock bag, throw that and my charger into my bag, grab my keys, put on my coat and my usual pair of boots, and head out to my car. At exactly 7:21, I realize I forgot my earbuds inside the pocket of my other usual jacket and run inside to get them. By 7:23, I’m on my way to school, pleased with myself because I know that if I had left 30 seconds later, I would be late.

Successful morning routines start the night before with the setting of the alarm. Ashley Tilke ensures her success by setting not one, not two, but a “million and one” alarms, the first of which is set for 5:30am. The sole purpose of this alarm is to be turned off. Tilke states, “Usually I don’t even remember doing this but I know it happens.” Eventually, a human alarm called her mother will yell down, inquiring if she is up. To disguise the fact that she is not, she yells back “yes” in her most convincing awake voice. Under the threat of her mother’s wrath, Tilke then turns on her heater and some music so her bedroom environment is pleasantly warm and melodic for the 5 minutes she spends in there after she gets out of the shower. Using her time wisely, she makes the tough decision of what to wear while in the shower. Tilke describes this difficult process, saying “It’s basically what sweatshirt and what jeans?” After choosing the most visually agreeable combination, Tilke grabs her backpack and starts her car, but make no mistake, she isn’t ready for school yet. Breakfast is essential to the wellbeing of teenager so Tilke chooses either a wholesome solo cup of cereal or 2 eggo waffles to go with her personal and portable jar of nutella. Because Tilke is also conscientious about her future welfare, she will often grab a box of YooHoo chocolate milk for an after school pick-me-up. In the end, Tilke arrives at school, promptly late at 7:40am.

Even though she sets 999, 998 less alarms than Tilke, Lindsey Marquez manages to make it to school on time most mornings. Like Tilke, her first alarm is set for 5:30 with the sole purpose of being turned off. On her experience with this seemingly widespread phenomenon, Marquez comments, “I like the feeling of knowing I can wake up and go immediately back to sleep.” Of course, one must eventually wake up, which Marquez does at 6:40. Right off the bat, she jumps into the next part of her morning routine: panicking because she is already late. But Marquez has more wiggle room than Tilke or I because she made the wise decision to pick out her outfit the night before. After putting in her teeth and brushing her contacts, it’s time for Marquez to watch Friends on Netflix while getting ready. After an initial distraction by the antics of 6 characters on a 90s sitcom, Marquez realizes she is behind on her skincare and vows to resist allowing her focus to wander and to spend the rest of her time wisely. For Marquez, doing her makeup is a process that requires considerable concentration so she does not allow herself to get distracted more than frequently by her show. Once her masterpiece is complete, Marquez’s panic resumes because she wasted too much time watching Friends. At this point, she runs into her mom’s room and blindly shakes her until she groans, “now?”, then continues her morning exercise by running downstairs and shoving any snack into her bag. Like Tilke, Marquez cares about her future well-being so she never neglects to grab a CapriSun juice pouch. Now Marquez is ready to head to school, arriving there late on occasion but usually just cutting it close.