The lilacs are in bloom and it is possible to walk outside in flip-flops without losing a toe to frostbite. Spring has arrived and summer is around the corner.
For seniors, this time of year means cramming as many activities into as little time as possible. For their families (and bosses), it means trying to deal with scheduling around their commitments.
To convey how hectic this time of year is for those of us about to graduate, I will attempt to cram what an average senior’s week might look like into the meager word limit given to me.
Monday: Take AP Government test. Attempt to score a 5 to earn credit for college. Fold origami foxes and butterflies with testing tablemate during break with extra paper. Frown when test proctor throws them away. Go to work. Study for upcoming tests.
Tuesday: Go to choir sectional after school to prepare for Big Nine Music Festival. Study for upcoming tests. Go to work. Study some more. Realize that you’re missing a calculator needed for tomorrow’s test. Panic. Call a friend with three extra calculators. Relax (slightly).
ADVERTISEMENT
Wednesday: Take AP Calculus test. Attempt to score well (but will be happy with any passing grade). Go to church choir rehearsal. Go to school’s orchestra and band concert to support friends. Go out for free pie night at Baker’s Square against better judgment. Study.
Thursday: Take AP Literature test. Actually enjoy it because it revolves around reading and writing. Go to volunteer program after school and fill plastic bags with shortening to show fourth graders how blubber will keep hands warm in a bucket filled with ice water. Drop heaping glob of Crisco on pants. Curse Crisco. Clean up after 60 elementary students. Rush to work.
Friday: Wake up early to be at school by 7 a.m. Stuff a school bus with choir kids. Drive to John Marshall High School. Stuff an economics classroom with female music students. Watch and critique different music groups. Change into concert attire and run around looking for shuttle bus driving people to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. Rehearse in church basement. File onto risers in church sanctuary. Sing heart out. Bask in the applause. File off of risers. Spend rest of day critiquing more groups. Realize that Minnesota is in fact the choral Mecca of the United States. Go to evening rehearsal for select choir. Gape at Dr. Angela Broeker’s ability to pull together four pieces of music beautifully in two hours. Wait outside in the cold for bus to go to the mall for dinner. Miss the first bus out of confusion. Miss the second bus out of politeness. Make the third bus. Eat dinner. Wait outside in the rain for the bus back to school. Hurry back for last performance of the day. Cram onto risers in gym. Try to find a window to see through past 6-foot-tall alto singers. Sing heart out — again. Enjoy music from select orchestra and band. Go home, exhausted. Sleep.
Saturday: Wake up early. Go with friend to salon to get hair and nails done for prom. Talk to nail technician about college. Discover many insights into her life such as a spur-of-the-moment decision to move to Chicago after a divorce. Move on to hair stylist. Cringe and bite lips as approximately 40 bobby pins are shoved into hair. Move on to toes. Strain to understand pedicurist. Understand her clearly as she informs you of the similarity between your pimply face and hers when she was young. Search for words for appropriate response. Fail to find them. Feel relief to finally leave salon in the afternoon. Pick up flowers. Go home and clean with fancy hair and nails while wearing sweat pants. Greet people as they arrive to take pictures. Hurry to put on makeup and change into prom dress. Smile until cheeks are sore while the parental paparazzi take approximately a thousand pictures. Drive to Mantorville to eat delicious dinner at the Hubble House with date and friends. Drive back to Rochester Civic Center for dance. Appreciate the various colors and designs of others’ prom attire. Dance until shoes must be removed. Dance some more. Attempt to stay awake for after-party. Fail and fall asleep. Smile drowsily at boyfriend’s chivalry as he pulls car up to drive you home. Sleep.
Sunday: Wake up for mother-appreciation day. Thank her for putting up with all of the craziness in her daughter’s life.
