The Wheel of Monotony

            Mid September:
            Mom *picking her daughter up from the bus after school*: "Hi Hanna! How was your day?"
            Hanna: "Good! The funniest thing happened...*continues to regale her mother with random and out-of-the blue tales of her day*   
            Right After Winter Break
            Mom: *picking her daughter up from the bus after school* "Hi Hanna! How's it feel to be back at school?!"
            Hanna: "Oh you know, it's weird to be back, but I really did miss all of my friends. It's nice to get back into the rhythm of things again."
             Right After Spring Break
             Mom: *picking her daughter up from the bus after school* "Hi Hanna! How's it feel to be back at school?"
             Hanna: "Ehh, it's nice to see my friends and all, but I'm not sure how much longer I can stand getting up so early!"
             Mid May - Less Than A Month Left of School
             Mom: *picking her daughter up from the bus after school* "Hi Hanna! How was your day?"
             Hanna: *groans* Tiring!
             Mom: "Did you have trouble falling asleep last night?"
             Hanna: "No."
             Mom: "Oh, so you just did extra strenuous things at school today?"
             Hanna: "No."
             Mom: "Then what?! You've been doing this since August! You can stand it for another few weeks."

What is it? We've all been in school for months and months. The same routine day-after-day for five days a week. I know my morning rituals so well, it's pretty much become instinct of when to get up, how much time to spend brushing my teeth, getting dressed, hair, makeup. My route of how to get to each class, and how much time I can spend talking to friends in between hasn't changed since the semester change in January.
            So what is it that makes these last few weeks before we're set free from what dominates our life for nine months out of the year? I think that's just it. We're not on our toes anymore. We know our routines, we know basic lesson plans of what's to come in our schedule each day. Nothing unexpected or exciting is really to happen for these next weeks, so it's just a monotonous never-ending routine that just seems to exhaust us all. Finals are rearing their ugly heads, teachers are packing on last minute projects and forgotten lessons, and yet all we can think about is all of the things to come in the midst of summer vacation.
            Every day, the faces of my peers seem to become a bit more weary. More and more students are calling themselves out sick, whether it's because of illness or "illness", who knows? Regardless, these last weeks of going through the motions of classes is taking a toll on everyone. I'm trying to keep everything as exciting as possible to keep my friends and myself getting through the days with something to look forward to - in an effort so we all don't just collapse upon our books. But just three weeks more of this exhaustion, and then the six in the morning wake up calls end, we're free to do what we want, and life is completely different for three months.
           Too bad I'm taking summer school.