The start of the school year is a time that is dreaded by many students. Typically around Labor Day weekend, students realize the summer is ending and it’s time to shift back to reality. Students go from sleeping in and living in leisure to having to wake up early and stick to a timely schedule. On the first day of school at NVD, students are expected to be in their seats ready for class at 8:00 a.m. Students begin to prepare for what the rest of the year entails: getting up at the crack of dawn when the weather is foggy and the temperature hasn’t reached 75 degrees. As students rush through the halls, the day begins.
The beginning of a morning routine could start any number of ways. One of the biggest variations of the morning routine is whether to shower in the morning or before bed the night before. Junior Trianha Puente describes how she showers at night. “I always tend to shower at night since I come home from practice and want to feel clean before going to bed,” she said.
Other students like Junior Jessica Anavim prefer to shower at night as well. “I usually shower at night because I get sweaty from the gym and gross from school,” she said.
Since classrooms are quite small, and students are close to each other as classes switch, hygiene is an important daily task in a morning routine. Another important daily hygiene task is the brushing of teeth. Using a toothbrush with toothpaste is critical for oral hygiene and health. According to Mayoclinic.com “Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste for at least two minutes each time you brush. This recommendation is from the American Dental Association.”
After showering, or not, the next step is typically fixing hair. Whether a person wets it because it got messed up during sleep, blow drying, straightening, or gelling, doing hair before school is a tedious process that most high schoolers perform daily. Junior Kyra Samaz puts more effort into her hair than some others. “It takes me around two hours to do my hair if I want it straightened,” she said.
Everyone’s hair care takes different amounts of time but since the clock is ticking until students are expected to be seated in their first-period classes, students should be a bit hasty. Puente has a simple hair routine. “My hair is the simplest part of my routine. To save time I braid my hair at night and wake up to take those braids out which takes less than five minutes” she said.
Some students choose to do makeup for school. Jessica Anavim does her makeup in the morning. “I do my makeup in the morning and it usually takes me 20-30 minutes,” she said.
No matter whether or not students choose to do their makeup, washing their faces should be a staple in a morning routine. Overnight faces fill with oil and dirt, cleaning it all off in the morning is a clean and refreshing action in a morning routine.
Junior Isaac Peters keeps up with his skincare. “I wash my face in the morning, after school, and before I go to bed. I have a facial wash that I scrub onto my face and wash off after a couple of minutes. Also, I have a cream that dries out pimples that become very noticeable,” he said.
After washing the face, picking an outfit is typically the next step. Picking out an OOTD (outfit of the day) is a really important part of a morning routine. Outfits people wear to school are typical ways for people to express themselves and be comfortable in what they are wearing for the six hours of school.
Peters enjoys picking his outfits and tries to stick to some sort of style. “Most days it takes me ten minutes to pick out an outfit. When I choose what to wear for the day, I try to stay comfortable but every once in a while, I will try to put together a somewhat nice outfit. I don’t have a style when I pick out my clothes, but I will color coordinate my outfits so it doesn’t look like I grabbed random clothes out of my drawers” he said.
On the other hand, Samaz is more simplistic in her style and chooses her clothes around the season. “It takes me around five minutes to pick out my outfit. I usually lean towards crop tops and shorts for the summer” she said.
Eating breakfast is heavily recommended for nutrition. Puente eats a healthy and hearty breakfast in the morning. “I believe breakfast is super important. I tend to eat a pretty heavy meal which consists of a smoothie, a fruit bowl, 2 slices of bread with jam, scrambled eggs, and bacon” she said.
Breakfast foods like eggs, waffles, and bacon are popular with the student crowd because they are fast to make and tasty to eat. Samaz enjoys one of the most popular breakfast foods. “I usually have avocado toast,” she said.
Some or even most students don’t eat breakfast. Anavim does have much time in the morning. “I usually don’t eat breakfast in the morning just because I don’t have time or I’m usually not hungry,” she said.
Even with quick options, mornings are very hectic, and making it to the first period is a hard enough task within itself. Also, at NVD, there is an incredibly satisfying cafeteria with sandwiches and bagels. There is also cereal, fruit, coffee, and juices that with a teacher’s permission could be consumed during class.
These are some of the most important steps in any functional morning routine. No matter what order they are performed in, they’re all equally important. High school is a stressful place but many students feel to do well in school they should look good! These students believe that the mindset and effort put into morning routines can have a positive effect on the day.
