After a period of staring at the clock, eagerly waiting for each second to pass by, I am struck by the reality that I have two periods left. I admit it: Four years of high school have taken a toll on this tired senior soul. The solution? Why of course, it’s time to call in sick! With a “doctor’s appointment,” I march out of the office in a proud stride, ready to go home and crash on my bed.
In the era of chronic sleep deprivation and increased academic workload, I have finally resorted to adopting the “skipping culture,” otherwise known as the art of not being present. Typically, this term is referred to as “skipping school,” however, isn’t that such a distasteful term? I like to call it a “strategic absence.” See, you can’t just skip whenever you want. There’s a complex decision making process behind it. What days do I skip? What periods specifically? What are my excuses? How many times can I skip in a month? It’s hard out here trying to figure out the minimum attendance rate before getting into trouble.
I wasn’t always like this. Three years ago, my little freshman self could not fathom the concept of not being at school. Here I was, from August to May, first period to sixth, diligently sitting in class like a good student. This was the case until junior year. All-nighters had finally pushed me to miss a period to recover on some much needed rest. I thought to myself, “It’s just one period. I won’t do it again.” But as the saying goes, “once you start, there’s no going back.”
I’m sure I’m not alone. In fact, this tiredness must be a universal experience, a suffering bequeathed to us by high school. You can see it in the half-asleep faces during first period, the students sprinting across campus because they woke up 15 minutes before class and the eye bags that only seem to get darker everyday. If anything, this strategic absence feels less like a rebellion and more like a survival tactic.
Now that I’ve left my sixth period class, what should I do? Well, isn’t the point to relax and enjoy yourself? Catch up on some sleep, grab some Chipotle or In-N-Out at the Village? You’re funny. The world after school is a battlefield. For seniors, college applications that you haven’t even started are waiting to be submitted; for underclassmen, homework assignments and extracurricular activities occupy all your time. Basically, the grind never stops.
Still, there’s something comforting about stepping away from school. For just a little bit, I can relax, whether that be scrolling on my phone, staring at the ceiling before a quick 26-minute nap (the ideal power nap length according to NASA) and ignoring the accumulating assignments on Google Classroom.
As much as I’d like to walk out of the office in a stride, thinking I beat the school system, the reality is, I’ll probably walk out with my back slouched and spirit in defeat. My teachers will look at my attendance rates in disappointment, and I’ll look at myself, with my messy hair and unshaved mustache, wondering what’s the point of all this work. However, as I stare back at the school gates that have imprisoned me all morning, I can’t deny it: today, this brief escape is exactly what I needed. Tomorrow, I’ll return—probably. But for now, all hail skipping school.
