Hannah Leon, a new student and junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has noticed a drastic change in her school routine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite adopting an altered, new schedule from last year, Leon still manages to stay extremely busy throughout the chaos of the virus. 

While her first period starts at 7:40 a.m., Leon prefers to start her mornings on the earlier side. She usually sets her alarm an hour before her first class to ensure she has enough time to get her day started.

“I wake up at 6:15 a.m. to start my morning early and either get a good workout in or finish some homework,” Leon said. “I always eat breakfast before online school, whether it’s eggs or a bagel. As an athlete I make sure to eat something good.” 

Despite being a student athlete, Leon is also enrolled in courses that require a heavy workload. Some of the classes she takes include Chemistry Honors, Advanced Placement English Language and Composition, U.S. History Honors, Spanish 3 Honors, Ceramics 2 Honors, AP Psychology and Pre-Calculus Honors. 

Starting her morning off right helps Leon be more productive and successful in these subjects. After finishing her morning classes, Leon begins her lunch break. 

“I definitely get hungry around lunch time and sometimes I get lazy and just make myself some ramen, but other times I will make myself a sandwich and have a big bowl of fruit,” Leon said.

After finishing her remaining classes, Leon still has many activities to complete before the day is done. In addition to being an athlete and taking on a rigorous academic schedule, she is also an active member of multiple clubs.  

“I am a part of three clubs so I have meetings for those a lot. In addition, I play lacrosse and we have practice twice a week, and on the days I do not have practice, I go to a training facility called BARWIS,” Leon said. “I will attend club meetings, have a snack, take my brother to tennis and then come home for a little bit and do some homework. After that, I go off to training or practice.”

Once she finishes her club meetings or lacrosse practices, Leon finds time to complete her homework. Instead of waiting until the next day of the block schedule, she tries to complete every assignment the night it was given to her in order to reduce stress and stay on top of her work. 

“I try to do my homework the night it is assigned, but sometimes I’m so tired that I give myself a break and do it the next day,” Leon said.

Having endured a long day of school and a packed extracurricular schedule, it can be very overwhelming on Leon’s physical and mental health. 

“After a long day at school, I can feel pretty tired and sometimes overwhelmed, but I always look forward to training or practice as they are big stress relievers for me,” Leon said.

Leon usually likes to finish her days by preparing for the next day of school whether it is completing homework she has not finished yet or cleaning up her work area. 

“For the next day of school, I come home, take a shower, eat dinner, and then I finish homework and study,” Leon said. “I clean up my desk space and then get everything out I need for the next day and do it all over again.”

After having such an eventful day, Leon gets herself prepared to call it a night and continues her routine the next day.