The aroma of coffee and stress fill the cafeteria as anxious students gather together on their first Monday of midterms. Tensions are high as kids cram in their last minutes of studying while shoving a chocolate chip muffin in their mouths in order to fill their knotted stomachs.
The good thing about midterms week is that I can waltz into school with no makeup on, sporting baggy sweatpants instead of stylish jeans and no one judges me.
I notice the familiar faces of girls who I would consider the “fashionistas” of Staples High School in baggy sweatshirts, trying hard to keep their eyes open after a long weekend of studying.
There’s something about the “midterm dress-code” that bands us all together though. The baggy old sweatpants and the long t-shirts seems to say, “I stayed up until five in the morning last night cramming for my exam and I don’t really care how you think I look.”
I look around the crowded cafeteria in between breaks and notice that the people who are not dressed their best are the people who are all in this together.
There are those few people who decide to throw on jeans and boots during midterms week and I will never understand how these people are capable of sitting through two hours of a test while a muffin top hangs loose over their jeans.
The people who dress comfortably during midterm week understand each other and understand the hard work they have all suffered in order to be prepared to take their first Monday morning midterm.
