Believe Me



“No TV until you finish your homework.” My mom stated blatantly as I tuned on the maniacal device.

“But mom!

No, you have a lot of homework and not much time to do it until bed.”

This was just one of those times when school overpowered my free time and forced me too lock myself in my room and do homework because school was just too long and there just wasn’t enough time in the day to do it. On top of that I still get enough sleep to make it through the next day.

My belief is that the school days should be shorter because on many occasions I lose free time to homework or sports and the days become monotonous and repetitive. This is what my day looks like: Wake up, school, sports, homework, dinner (sometimes), and bed. Sometimes if there’s a half-day or a teacher decides to give me a break, I’ll have some time to myself. Other than that my day is usually the same, boring day every time. When I’m in school, I feel that after a certain period of time, say four hours, I start to get tired and can’t mentally continue to learn because I can’t stay focused on the teacher’s lesson. Occasionally, I have a free period, and that helps a lot. Although it gives me a break during the strenuous strain of the day, I am usually spending it doing homework so that I can relax a little at my home. I feel that I, and probably many other kids at my school, need time to regenerate our minds throughout the day so that instead of us being exhausted at the end of the day we can be ready to learn at any point during the classes.

Incidentally, I have a story about this topic to share with you. One time, (I think it was in eighth grade) I was invited to go to a birthday party for one of my really close friends from my town. I was exuberant when I got invited! So on the day of the party, I was going up to my room to change. I came back down and I saw my mom give me one of those what-do-you-think-your-doing looks.

”I’m going to the party for my friend.” As soon as I said that she replied,

”You can go to the party. I have no problem with that.” But here’s the kicker:
“YOU HAVE TO FINISH YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST.” She smiled at me with a look of evil that only Satan would have loved. She skipped down the stairs and turned on the TV. I looked at the clock. Only 30 minutes to the party! I sighed and sat down at my desk. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go. School had gotten out so late that as soon as I got home it was 45 minutes until the party. As it turned out, it had taken me 2 hours to complete my homework, but by then the party had already ended and my hopes of going were crushed. A few days after the party, my mom finally told me she was sorry for the whole party incident, but by then it was too late.

I find school to be very stressful and tiring, but it can also be rewarding and help-ful. It is almost like a poison, how it can be deadly and hurt people, but there is also a bright side to it because it can make anti-venom that can cure people.

It’s not that I don’t think school is important, I very much believe that. I just think that if school were a little shorter, then I would have a lot more time to complete my daily tasks. If I had more time, I could relax more, maybe even hangout with friends during school nights, but no matter what I would do with the extra time I would spend it having fun and enjoying myself.

Childhood should be about having fun, hanging out with friends, and in general enjoying life, but with the whole prospect of school for the most part of the day that reality is only a dream to some kids. As for me, I just believe that if I had an hour or two of extra time to do everything, I would be a much happier person, and I would be able to enjoy childhood a lot more.