How to Live like a Contemp YA Protag (for a day) 📝

⏰ Wake Up ⏰

It’s early. Way too early. You hit snooze a dozen times and when that doesn’t work, you throw your phone across the room. Nothing is getting you out of bed except maybe your younger sibling hurtling themselves on top of you or your mother yelling through the door that if you don’t get a move on, she’s not giving you a lift. No smelly breath or greasy hair is in your future, and a vivid description of whatever shabby chic outfit you put on is a must!

MANDY: I am the alarm person, and since I’m naturally a paranoid person, I have 3 – 4 alarms set just in case the first 2 – 3 fail. So, my first step is to turn off all of those and try to literally roll myself out of the bed. Then directly into the shower of sadness, where I forever cry I’m up this early. 
SHA: I get up every morning at 6:30 am and get ready for it: I don’t even need an alarm. My body knows that it’s time to waken. I haven’t hit snooze in years. 

🍳 Time for Breakfast! 🍳

You make it downstairs without enough time for that hearty meal of pancakes and bacon your dad whipped up. (He’s a pro at breakfast, sure, but he can’t cook anything else to save his life.) Somehow you still have time for a lecture on your constant tardiness/anti-social antics/need to get into a good college. You grab an apple—that will have to be enough to get you through the day.

MANDY: I have to have something in my stomach, because I mean, who wants the stomach rumbles in the middle of class? I don’t want the tune of whale sounds coming from me, so I try to sneak a granola bar in before I try to sneak in a 10 minute snooze. 
SHA: I agree with breakfast being hard to eat when you’re in a rush. I prefer eating it though. ALSO, omg, if someone was lecturing me before the crack of dawn… Okay, then I would run out without breakfast. 

🚌 Off to School 🚌

You’re driving yourself in to school today. The school bus = for losers. (Literally, you can explain why and the whole social death that entails in detail.) But you have to drive your annoying younger sibling in as well. Ugh. They always fool around with the radio and ask the dumbest questions. Don’t worry, though – you’ll be picking up your bestie where you can chat about your latest crush, the best gossip, and how awful school is.

MANDY: I either drove myself or carpooled when I was in school. Carpools were not for talking though – they were usually for contemplating all life choices like why was school happening and praying the radio didn’t play any awkward songs in front of my dad and carpool buddy. 
SHA: I still don’t have my license, so I will get on the Loser Bus. It’s more environmentally friendly, Protag!! I’m also super close with my siblings, a car ride with them would be fun. 

🏫 Go to Class (sorta) 🏫

Lockers are slamming and people are gossiping. Hello, high school, can’t wait to leave you. Actually, now feels like a good time? That cute love interest asked you to dip out and grab some real food at the local diner. (Do not trust cafeteria grub.) Farewell, AP Science! You’ll get the notes. Probably.

MANDY: Meh, I mean, classes and school in general was, like, okay? I don’t understand how anyone had time – especially for all the gossiping or stopping by for a quick chat because there was like five minutes in between, and all of the classes were on the opposite side of the building. NO ONE HAS TIME FOR THIS. And like, I could never get my locker open. So. Yeah. That’s apparently what I took out of high school, lol. 
SHA: I liked high school? In a weird way. I won’t say I never wanted to leave, but I enjoyed being in class. No one ever asked me to skip to eat delicious food!!! I clearly missed out on the best high school experiences. 

💰 Time for Work? 💰

After school it’s off to wo— home. Let’s be serious, you don’t have time to sweep popcorn off the floor and smell like stale butter. There are hearts to break! Anyway, you get a hefty allowance that you won’t mention for manners’ sake. That’s how you afford the car!

MANDY: Ya girl had homework to do – and like parents that were not into dropping her off places when they were tired. So, no work for moi, and definitely not an allowance. Birthday and Christmas had to be the cash cows to keep it flowing through the year. 
SHA: Can I have a mystery allowance? I didn’t have a job in high school but I didn’t have an allowance either.

💣 Mental Breakdown 💣

AURGH! Mom is off again about college applications (you’re working on it, doesn’t she get that?? Nevermind that skipped AP Science class, you’re GETTING the notes) and Dad burned the dinner he never should have been making and your pesky younger sibling is screeching louder than the fire alarm. Why is everything so complicated????

MANDY: idk, YA Heroine, IDK. Maybe it’s revisionism history, but I feel like I was a bit more chill in high school??? I mean, I’m naturally an anxious person, so ofc, the panic can’t stop, won’t stop, but I felt like I didn’t have a YA Heroine level meltdown that I can remember – although I certainly had senioritis. 
SHA: I feel this protag on the daily mental breakdown. I’ve yet to schedule mine to a precise moment like this, but if I could schedule a time sometime before bed would be nice. 

✏️ Homework ✏️

You can catch up on homework tomorrow morning, you decide, as you set your alarm extra early. You won’t even hit snooze! (Yeah, right.) Tonight, you need to relax and catch up with your best friends—the people who know you best and can say all the right things to calm you down after such a hectic day. Time to dig out that phone you pitched across the room this morning.

MANDY: Anxiety would never let me not not do homework. This girl = total rule follower and definitely afraid of a good stern talking to from mi madre. She doesn’t play. So, I always had homework done and ready to go – probably a bit half-hearted but READY TO GO. 
SHA: Yup. I was always avoiding homework. The only written work I keep up with now is the blog, and I usually do that without being told. (AKA things you choose to do yourself are way more fun and motivating to do.) Friend time > homework time. 

💤 It’s Bed Time! 💤

Finally, sleep. Everything will be better tomorrow, it has to be. You should probably leave the window open a crack though, in case a certain someone wants to sneak in…

MANDY: Omg, no. Ain’t no boy sneaking in my bedroom window. This is not turning into a murder mystery starring me as the dead side character. I’m in promptly at the same bedtime each night so I can all the beauty sleep I can get, since I’m not a YA Heroine. 
SHA: You better bet all my doors and windows are locked at night. Not even stray cats can get in and you know I love me some kitties.

How would you fare as a typical contemporary YA protagonist?