Getting through the week is hard, and I often find myself waking up with nothing to look forward to. This is why my friends and I have started a tradition that we like to call “the weeknight hang”. This entails getting together at someone’s house usually around seven or eight, and sometimes working on homework, but often just enjoying being together.
Some may ask, Claire, how do you fit this into your busy schedule? I would tell the naysayers that the weeknight hang is not only a delightful escape, but a lesson in time management. The promise of seeing my friends gives me an incentive to get my homework done ahead of time, and I plan things so that on days when I have sports, clubs, or music lessons I am already finished with my work by the time they are over. Of course, many nights I am just too busy, but I rarely go through a week without participating in at least one. Chances are, by the time the final bell rings, someone has sent the fervent inquiry: “weeknight hang tonight?”. Recieving that text breathes life into my day, and forces me to actually be productive during study hall so that I don’t have to send the dreaded response “can’t, too much homework”.
My closest friends all attend different schools, so coming together during the week is essential to staying connected. We commiserate about school and life, and fill each other in on what we missed after being apart all day. In some ways its a remnant of elementary school, when we would go over to each other’s houses after school and stay until dinner. Sometime between then and now, this tradition died, as homework increased, and time grew scarcer, but I think it’s time the weeknight hang made it’s celebrated return. I will probably never again in my life have as few responsibilities as I do right now, and I intend to take full advantage. I understand that being able to take the time for a weeknight hang is a privilege. Many high school students have family responsibilities and financial burdens that make this luxury impossible, but I would urge anyone to adapt the idea of the weeknight hang to fit their schedule, even if this just means taking 15 minutes to call a friend or family member.
The weeknight hang provides a sense of control, and makes me feel like my time belongs to me, when so much of my routine is out of my hands. After a day filled with tasks that I don’t want to do, it feels therapeutic to be able to spend time doing something I enjoy, with people that I love.