DS

Nintendo DS. Plato's Republic. Sleeping student head. Each stacked atop each other in a poignant example of the life of a student at my school. Play. Work. Sleep. Although this may come in any order, often times it is Play, Sleep, Work, or Work, Sleep, Play. And sometimes the sleep goes on in the class instead of at home and this activity of "sleeping in class" increases exponentially as each year of high school passes. The play part has also grown since freshman year with so many different ways to deter ourselves from school work. I can't seem to walk around campus without seeing kids playing on their Nintendo DS, PSP, laptops, listening to iPods or other music players, playing cards, talking on their cell phones, or playing basketball. Those are just some of the options at school, at home there is also television and facebook and myspace and any of those other internet blog/comment sites. (Take blogger as an example, although this sort of blogging is me being productive). And why do students take the minimal amount of hours out of our day to contribute to unnecessary activities? Because we want to put off the necessary ones as long as possible! Oh, there it is, the dun Dun DUNNNN "P" word: Procrastination. Even though we could do our math homework first, which might take one to two hours, after only those one to two hours we'd be done and could either move on to the next homework item or if that was all the homework, do the things we'd rather do. It really doesn't make any sense as to why we choose to waste time when it only makes the time we actually do the work super late/super early so we are tired and are prone to falling asleep at the computer. (Oh yeah, this is another place where we fit sleep in). When I was a freshman, sophomore, and a first semester junior I knew this quite well and hardly ever did not turn in a homework or project late from procrastination or from sleeping. But now, especially as a fourth-quarter-in-college senior, homework is not so threatening as before except when it can lead to me being uninvited to the Senior's Beach Skip Day or college. Since AP's are over, the hardest of the classes, it seems like we are done with school when in fact there are still language, Economics/European History/Community Service, and English classes that have projects and homework and tests. In response, more of my peers and friends are turning towards their gameboys instead of completing "that Econ worksheet" making the "Play" and "Sleep" parts of our days supercede the "Work". Beware of too much play or sleep, keep things in balance. Not so easy to do as to preach, but maybe one of you juniors more diligant than me will follow through.