audio essay

The speaker describes their daily activities from Monday to Monday. They talk about waking up, getting ready for school, going to classes, working, taking exams, going fishing, washing hair, hanging out with friends, and spending time with family. They mention feeling stressed and busy with work, but also realizing the importance of balancing work and family time. They express a desire to prioritize family and make more time for them. Busy Bee, written, narrated, and edited by Allie Russell. Monday, April 15th. I started off my morning by waking up around 7.20ish. When I first woke up, I laid down for a little bit and scrolled on Pinterest to see what I wanted to wear for the day. I eventually got out of bed, put my outfit on, and brushed my hair. I went downstairs to brush my teeth. When I got down, my mom was walking out the door, so I told her to have a good day, and I loved her. I walked back upstairs, did a little makeup, and put my hair in a braid. I was running a little bit late today, so by the time I got out to my car, it was 7.50, and I had to take my sister to school too. I got to school around 8, put my stuff in my locker, and went to 7 Mindsets. In 7 Mindsets, we didn't do much. We just updated our Chromebooks for the SAT that we take this week. After school, I changed into my scrubs and went to work. When I got to work, I turned in some papers to one of my bosses and continued on with my shift. I got a new badge that is labeled CNA because I take my exam next week, so they gave it to me early because they know I'll pass and aren't worried about me failing. I worked and did all my tasks for the night, and it eventually was time to clock out and go home. When I got home, it was around 9.30, so I showered and went to bed. Tuesday, April 16th, I got to school around 7.50. I was actually early. I asked my first-hour teacher to write me a letter of recommendation for a WAC class that I'm taking. I was supposed to work at Harvest Tuesday, but my boss didn't want me to come in with the weather we were expecting. When my dad got home, my neighbor came over and told us she ran over one of our chickens with the long mower, and she brought it over. I really thought that was weird because, one, how did you not see the chicken, and two, why did you bring the dead chicken back to our house that you ran over? Like, she just brought a piece of it, it was weird. But after the neighbor came over and explained what she did, I left with my dad and we went to his brother's new property, and I fished this pond, and I got two bluegill. It was a really fun time. Wednesday, April 17th, I washed the hair treatment out of my hair from the night before, so I got up a little bit earlier so I could wash my hair out. When I got to school, my first hour is math. We were studying for a math test that I had no faith that I was going to pass it. While we were studying for the test, a tick was crawling on my shoulder, and I freaked out a little bit, and I killed it. I do not like bugs. After school, I went to work, I was really busy, I made pizzas, baked, bussed tables, made a couple appetizers, and sampled dessert boards. I was stressed through the whole night, but in the end, it paid off. My boss tipped me when I don't normally get tipped. This really showed me that hard work pays off. Thursday, April 18th, I forgot to set my alarm in the morning, so I woke up a little late. When I got to school, I realized I left my book bag in my dad's truck, and I had to call my grandma and tell her that I made a tiny mistake and asked her to get it for me. Luckily, she's the best grandma, and she did go and get it for me. When I got to first hour, I luckily had my own personal laptop, which made me nervous to bring it in, but thankful that I had it with me. I took my math test on it, and all I can say is I did not pass. Friday, April 19th, I started off my day by taking my SAT. We got to leave around 12. I went home, and I cleaned my room. I got done with work around 10.30 and got home around 11. I stayed up a little later than normal, talking to some of my friends. Sunday, April 20th, I hung out with my friends the night before, so I stayed up pretty late till Sunday morning. We were all in the hot tub having a really fun time. It was nice to catch up with everybody. When we got up later Sunday morning, my friend's mom made a really good big breakfast. My friends and I stayed a little bit after breakfast, talking to our friend's parents, and I went home around noon. Later in the day, my dad took me to trap shooting, and all I can say is I just did all right. I didn't do as good as I usually do. Monday, April 22nd, my parents left my house around 3 in the morning to go to the airport in Moline. Their plane left at 6 o'clock, and as of 8.30, they were in Dallas, Texas, messaging me so excited. My parents are so adorable. I just love them. Later in the day, by the time I was getting home from school, they have arrived in Mexico, and they've been sending me pictures, and they're so, so excited. It's so cute to see them so excited. I went to work at 3.30, did my beginning tasks, and then went down for dinner. Throughout the shift, I stayed really busy. I eventually was able to leave a little after 9 o'clock. When I got home, I did my chores my parents usually do, like the dishes, laundry, feeding, watering the animals for dinner. They're all really fat, so they get fed a couple times a day. I let all the animals outside after that, I showered, and I made myself a better dinner than nursing home food. Throughout this week, I have worked a lot, almost every single day. As a high school student, I'm weird and love to work because of the money. I love to be able to hang out with my friends whenever and have the money to do the fun things. However, going to school all day and then going to work after has been really hard. Even though I do hang out with my friends on the weekend, not making much time for my family anymore has put me in a rough patch. Going through and listening to myself only talk about work has encouraged me to push back on hours a little bit, focus on the time I have with family before it's time to move out.