During the school week, some days feel as though they will never end, especially when I take part in school activities right after the last bell rings, and stay on campus late into the night.
It was a Red Day Thursday in September of 2023, also known as the “Worst Day to be a Band Kid,” because I took four periods and band had its weekly 6-9 p.m. rehearsal. For me, however, it got even worse.
I was a band kid who was also in the school’s FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team, a club that’s most busy during the marching season and runs sessions from 4-6 p.m after school.
During this session we had to finish some last-minute fixes to our somewhat functional robot, and by the time we’d found success, there wasn’t enough time for a break to go home. I had to head straight to marching band rehearsal.
The first half of practice was unbearably hot, as the sun was so strong that I had trouble keeping my eyes open while music director Jason Shiuan gave instructions. The second half was no better: The temperature plummeted, making me seriously consider Googling “treatments for hypothermia.”
All I wanted was for the rehearsal to end. It seemed like this was truly a never-ending school day. Luckily, after a cruel 13 hours on campus, I was finally released to head home. And, of course, I had three hours of homework waiting for me at home.
