When the sun rises, so does busy athlete and musician Sophie Mathews, a freshman at Hoover High School.
Here is a glimpse into a day in her life.
5:00 a.m: A blaring alarm clock rings. Outside the window, the sky is dark, in shades of purple, pink and blue. The sun still hasn’t made an appearance, and the world is quiet. Very quiet. Her eyelids flutter, wishing to fall back asleep. But the snooze button is not an option. Mathews must wake up.
5:15 a.m: Mathews gets dressed in shorts and a tee shirt, perfect attire for the exercise to follow. She slowly walks to the kitchen, approaching the coffee machine she has used many times before. She prepares her coffee with brown sugar oat milk creamer from Trader Joes. As the caffeine spreads through her body, she begins to wake up. She starts to pack her bags, bringing extra clothes, water polo supplies, lunch, school books and materials, and on some days, instruments.
5:30 a.m: As Mathews steps out into the world, her arms filled with bags, and her eyes still adjusting, the air is bitterly cold. After her 15 minute commute, she enters the school, knowing she’ll be surrounded by shades of purple and illustrations of Tornados for the next 16 hours.
6:30 a.m: At the time most students are waking up, Mathews has already woken up, arrived at the school, and begun water polo practice. On Thursdays, it’s workout day. The team runs across the field, and practices with weights. Extra laps are added for each minute a member is late.
7:15 a.m: Already tired from strenuous exercise, Mathews heads to even more. At this hour, most people haven’t even arrived at school yet, but Mathews heads to the Hoover track to engage in marching band practice.
10:25 a.m: After her first-period Life Management class, Mathews stomach turns in hunger. She pays a visit to the Hoover cafeteria, picking up a delicious package of cocoa puffs cereal. As she walks to her third-period class, she listens to music to pump her up. Her airpods play Taylor Swift, the Beatles, or even the songs being learned in Jazz band class, like “Take the A Train.”
12:25 p.m: Even at lunch, Mathews is a busy bee. On Fridays, she performs with the band at the pep rallies, and on other days, she hangs out in the band room or with her friends.
2:35 p.m: Since Mathew’s doesn’t have a seventh-period class, this break is the only true one she has the entire school day. Somedays, she walks to Pacific with her band friends. She pops into Starbucks, purchasing her favorite, the Frozen Strawberry Acai.drink. Other times, she buys a bagel or sandwich. She spends her free time studying or doing homework.
5:00 p.m: At this time, it’s back to hustle. Marching band practice starts, and in the lingering heat, with sweat sticking to her uniform, she rehearses on the football field. Sometimes flashes of faintness can come, and to stay healthy, she must drink water. Lots of it. Tunes play from the many instruments, and the marching band bodies step around the field. Marching, marching, marching….
9:00 p.m: When the sun has disappeared, and the faint sprinkling of stars dance through the sky, Mathews is finally done. After hours of playing instruments, doing exercise, and dealing with actual school work, the day has come to an end.
9:15 p.m: She arrives home. Mathews enjoys her dinner, and takes a shower, washing away the day’s work. There is no time for any other activities. She climbs into bed, listening to some Taylor Swift, each note helping her relax. As she drifts off to sleep, her eyelids coming to a close, she knows, the next day, she will do it all again.
