I was sitting alone in my room listening to my favorite song. The music was drowning out the sound of silence in the empty house. Just as the song had ended, I was startled by the sound of my alarm. It was 7 a.m. and time to get ready for school. I can never sleep at night anymore. My mom gets mad at me for lying around and doing nothing after school, but by the time I get home I have no energy left to do anything else. I sit on the couch scrolling on pointless social media apps until I drift off into a 2 hour nap. When I finally wake up, I go find something to eat. After that, I gather up enough energy to grab my backpack and get started on the many homework assignments I’m given each night. Then, I try to fall asleep. This is basically how every day goes for me until we’ve finally reached Friday. I try to do things every weekend to convince myself I don’t have a boring life. The weekend, of course flies by, and then all I have to look forward to is the next weekend.

I’m a happy person believe it or not. I love spending time with my friends and family, and for the most part school isn’t so bad. I’m just sick of the same routine. I decided to break my routine. I was so sick of feeling the same every single day, so I tried something new. Instead of going to bed as late as possible, I went to bed around 9:30 p.m., and woke up at 6 a.m.  instead of 7 a.m. I tried talking to new people at school. Don’t get me wrong I have great friends, but new is always good. When I got home I started my homework immediately, and then limited my time on my phone. I helped my mom with making dinner and then I helped her clean up. I ended my day by writing in my journal and listening to happy songs, instead of my usual sad ones. I felt better. I felt shiny and brand new. I liked this feeling.

I started to become grateful for everything around me. I didn’t wish I had a different life anymore. I loved my life. I made more friends, I got my grades up. Everything around me was improving. I was excited to wake up in the morning and go to school. Some days are harder than others, but for the most part I’m living a dream.