By Li Yam ’22
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. My alarm clock wakes me up at 6:30am on a Wednesday. Barely awake, I sit up and tap my buzzing phone. Despite the long school-day ahead, I have hope in the fact that the following day, the upper school has a 10am late start morning. After getting ready, my sister and I leave our house and are greeted by the sunny morning on our drive to the Harvard-Westlake Upper School campus. At 7:40am, we arrive, park in my designated parking spot, and begin walking towards the quad. As we reach the crowd of students, my sister and I part ways for the day as my friends embrace me in a hug. I have around ten minutes to spare before my first class of the day—AP French—begins at 8 AM, giving me enough time to get a warm bowl of oatmeal from the cafeteria as well as a nice cup of chamomile tea.
I finish my breakfast and head towards my class for an energetic morning of French discussions. When class is done, I return to the quad for a 25-minute break, where I am able to see more friends and catch up on the latest events. At 9:40am, I start my second class of the day, Post-AP Spanish, where we learn about the Religious Wars of Europe. At 10:55am, we get let out of class for lunch time, and I buy a delicious bowl of noodles with tofu and a bag of apple slices. I eat at a table with my friends on the quad and work on my English homework. At 11:45am, my next class of the day begins: Middle East Studies. The moment I step foot in the class, my wonderful teacher invites a vibrant discussion as we study the Arabic alphabet and the current events of Afghanistan.
At 1pm, I have a 45-minute break when the 11th graders have a designated class-meeting time. I take this time to visit the math office to ask my AP Economics teacher a few questions about last night’s homework. After meeting with him for around 20 minutes, I head towards the library for the remainder of the break to focus on a Middle East Studies article that was assigned. At 1:45pm, I start my last class of the day, AP Calculus C. After an hour and fifteen minute period learning about polar graphing, I leave the classroom and enter the quad one last time, enjoying the company of my friends before my sister and I head home. By 3:15pm, my sister and I are back in my car, listening to ABBA and excited for what the afternoon will bring.
