Scheduling Fridays Off

by Travis Rocha

Christopher Newport offers so many freedoms to its students. I reminisce on my high school days and how little flexibility my academic schedule had. School started at 7:40 a.m. and it ended at 2:15 p.m. Following which, I’d immediately go to lacrosse or wrestling practice, depending on the season. My other clubs and commitments would interfere with my practice time, and so it was always one or the other. It wasn’t until senior year, when I quit sports, that my schedule finally had some maneuverability for me to choose more activities to be involved in. At Christopher Newport, my schedule is always wide open.

Though, that isn’t to say there’s nothing to do. There is certainly plenty to do, more options and opportunities than any one person could take advantage of. I’m just amazed at all the time I have for everything. I’m able to go to all of my classes, office hours, clubs, volunteer, study, work, spend time with friends and, surprisingly, get a decent amount of sleep every night. Though, I believe my magnum opus of scheduling is, how I have no classes on Friday.

That’s right, it’s a three-day weekend, every weekend. And oh man, it’s sweet. A lot of my friends scheduled their classes the same way, and a few others scheduled theirs so they wouldn’t have class on Tuesdays or Thursdays. This type of scheduling is common here! We’re a small school, but there’s still so many classes to choose from that it’s easy to switch things around like that!

Every day at Christopher Newport is something new. I go to class and learn something new. I go to my extracurriculars and create new things for myself and my peers. I see my friends and have new laughs. I love all the freedom I have to explore and try new things, having Fridays off is just a bonus!