By Emma Wheatley

My alarm clock blasts nearly as loud as a fire alarm at 6:50 on a Monday morning. I am immediately jolted out of the deepest, most comfortable sleep of my life only to be greeted by pure darkness. It is the middle of January, so the sun has not even considered rising yet. The heat in my room chooses only to work when it feels most convenient, and the times it is most convenient tend to be when I am not at home. So there I am: lying in bed, half asleep, wondering why I have to get up so early. Then I remember that it is Monday and I actually consider crying.

The alarm clock is still beeping. I stumble out of bed, and my body is greeted with the freezing atmosphere outside of my warm blankets. I turn off the alarm and wonder “what is my first class?” This is when I realize that my first class is a free, and that in a perfect world, I would just be able to go back to sleep and come to school when my classes actually start.

As a senior, I have thoroughly enjoyed the many privileges I have been granted. I am particularly fond of the Friday dress down day because coming to school in my pajamas is extremely convenient. Another wonderful privilege, which my schedule has somehow prevented me from experiencing both semesters, is the privilege that allows a senior to leave early if she has a last period free.

Although I have never been able to enjoy this privilege, I can only imagine how liberating it must feel to waltz out of the school at 2:15 while everyone else still has another class. This privilege makes a lot of sense. There is no need for a person to stay at school if their classes have ended, unless they have some other commitment. The only thing that troubles me about this is why it does not work the other way around. Why can a senior leave early if she has a last period free, but not come in late if she has a first period free?

My week would be considerably better if I was able to sleep in an extra hour on my first period free days. I would be getting more sleep three nights out of the week, I would have time to make myself a real breakfast instead of rushing to throw some cereal in a plastic baggy and sprinting out the front door (so as not to be late for my free), and I would be in an all-around better mood on these particular days. I know all of you STA girls can relate to that well-rested, energized feeling you have during the day on late start days. So what is the problem?

Is STA worried that sleeping in will turn me into a slacker? Because on the contrary, my attention span is much longer on the days when I feel well-rested. And what is the point in coming into school at 7:45 if my classes don’t start until 8:30? I usually just sit in my free staring off into space or discreetly trying to sleep even though Sister Joan keeps coming over and telling me to do something productive.

It’s not that I don’t use my frees to do work. I know that the purpose of frees is to get ahead on school work, but at 7:45 in the morning, no work has been assigned to me yet. I have done my homework the night before, so there is absolutely nothing to do.

I know that making this appeal will not benefit me, since I will be graduating within the next five months and if administration were to consider this, they would not put it into effect until next year. So I am doing this for all of you underclassmen. When you are seniors, you will feel the same pain as I do when your alarm goes off at 6:50 in the morning, and you know that if only the privileges were a little more thorough, you could still be sleeping.