It is 7:30 am. I am awake. Actually, no, wait, I’m not. Scratch that. At 7:55, I am awake– for real this time. I do what my parents refer to as the “last-minute morning dash,” where I get a cup of coffee and log onto my first-period class–blaming my WiFi if I happen to be late. Don’t judge my rationale, we’ve all done it. While my personal experience with being online might not reflect every online PDS student, I’d like to think that six months of this less-than-wise morning routine gives me some credibility to speak on the topic.

 I am now in my first-period class and it is very likely that I am distracted. It’s just who I am and the way things work when you’re online, no biggie. With my WiFi connection fluctuating almost as much as my grades, let’s just say that learning can be… frustrating. Though things don’t typically make too much sense when I learn them for the first time anyways, I can always rely on my egregious WiFi connection to help me out when I need it most: right when a teacher decides to cold call me. Needless to say, every day, I am thankful that I am no longer in Honors Chemistry. Sophomores…I’m truly sorry. 

Like any other studious PDS student (and let’s pretend I fall into that category for a minute), upcoming tests and projects are always on my mind. I look at my Schoology calendar and make study plans weeks in advance to ensure that I don’t procrastinate or save my work for the last minute… before choosing to ignore my plans entirely. Considering that I’m writing this very piece the night that it’s due, obviously my plan isn’t working out too well. But hey, can you blame me? With testing policies changing left and right, it’s hard to keep up. Ergo, the best solution is to do every assignment the night before it’s due! Trust me, it’s only slightly less stupid than it sounds! You never start something too early and you can channel that procrastination-induced creativity into something wonderful– your teachers will adore it. Speaking of things constantly changing, what is up with lunch?! Like, I get it. But for online students, the frustration of being late to a class because you forgot what day of the cycle it was, and which class you have third period, and what lunch block that class falls into is a nightmare for people who can’t just follow the crowd back to class. It’s kind of embarrassing, actually. I usually just turn my camera off and hide in shame until my teacher notices. But the mind of an online student isn’t just full of complaints, I promise. The extra time for napping; watching YouTube, Netflix, or any other streaming platform of choice; never having to starve during class, thanks to constant access to food; and how easy it is to pull all-nighters while still being able to function somewhat effectively are all things that ease the mind of an online PDS student.