HAHS students came back to school after a long winter break in January. The first week back is always the hardest with students adjusting to the times and being in one place all day. When school starts at 7:30 in the morning, it is a big adjustment to wake up on time and go to sleep at a reasonable time. Hailey Quinn, HAHS sophomore, said, “Before break I would fall asleep around 10:30-11:00 p.m. but during break I had stayed up till 1:00 a.m. and not waking up until 10:00 a.m.” showing how big of a jump it is having to wake up at 6:30 in the morning instead of sleeping in until 10:00. 

     Erica Gerner, HAHS sophomore, said, “I would go to sleep at around 12:00 a.m. and I would not wake up until 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. everyday,” reiterating how different it is from one day having break, to having to wake up four hours earlier. 

     The break consisted of having a lot of time for students to be able to focus on themselves and family. It allowed one to better mental health that normally cannot be fixed due to school. Students would be able to have time to do activities and pursue hobbies that one has always wanted to do. Hailey Quinn was able to spend a lot of time with her dogs and enjoy the day where she would read, paint, and catch up on shows that she missed. On a normal school day, she would go to school, go home and do the homework teachers assigned, and then go to bed. The only time to focus on oneself is over the weekend, where most people tend to have to already have plans or plan on doing homework one out of the two days. So then coming back to school brings back all of the bad habits and mental health students get into. Hailey Quinn said, “Being over break allowed me to work on time with myself and what I wanted to do rather than doing homework assignments and projects,” highlighting the importance of needing to have free time to focus on oneself. 

     The biggest issue that many students struggle with is the adjustment of times. People are never prepared for how much of a time change or having to be somewhere everyday is. Erica Gerner said, “For a few days it is very difficult for me to get up in the morning, but then I get back to the normal schedule,” showing how the first week is generally the worst week for most students. 

     Hailey Quinn said, “It takes me two days to get back to normal, but the hardest part is the big stretch until spring,” which highlights that it continues to be a struggle even after the first week. 

     Overall, many students’ mental health struggles after coming back from break, and some will experience the issues until spring break. The adjustment takes time to get used to, but students always end up figuring it out and work hard in school to learn and get better.