Is life at Williston starting to feel back to normal? If so, why is everyone so tired?

There are a lot less restrictions than last fall, masks only in the classroom, teams playing in games, and back to the normal class schedule. Many returning students have been talking about how exhausted they feel in comparison to last year.

A lot of this tiredness seems to come from the original schedule, with five classes a day, more homework, and afternoon programs back in action the way they used to be in past years. Kana Kitano and Jules Constantinople, both four-year seniors, are, like their peers, readjusting to the (new) old schedule.

“It has only been four weeks at school, but it’s been really busy,” Jules said. “It feels like we been here for months. I feel like we got back into the swing of things [but] I feel mentally and physically exhausted with the normal schedule.

Kana is also feeling the pressure. “There feels like there has been more workload.,” she said. “The schedule feels harder.”

With more class periods each day, students have said the days feel longer even with the classes — minus “H block” — only being one hour. In addition, the college process is in full swing, which isn’t making life easier for any senior.

“This year has been really stressful with more classes and more work on top of seniors figuring out college stuff,” Kana explained. “It does not feel like we have much free time for ourselves.”

Alexia Ildefonso, History teacher and dorm parent in EMV, sympathizes with the stressed students.

“This is my first year with this schedule and the day feel more packed so I totally understand why kids would be so tired,” she said.

For teaching purposes, however, Ildefonso likes the consistency. “It’s nice that every class is the same length,” she said.