By Rachel Bell 

Click.

She begins to nod off.

Click…click…

The sounds of her computer keyboard become further and further apart.

Click…

She finally gives up on the never ending fight to keep her eyes open and drifts away to sleep. Whip!

She flings her head up as soon as she realizes what’s happening.

Deadline, she thinks.

I’ve got to make this…

She dozes off yet again.

It’s not unusual for a student to be involved in more than one out-of-school activity. But what about five? Senior Chloe Schumacher juggles tennis, the musical, working two jobs, and high school while being a full-time college student enrolled at Kirkwood. The most amazing part? She doesn’t complain. It’s not hectic, it’s just Chloe.

The oldest of six children, Chloe is seen as an influence on her younger siblings. But a house with seven people only adds to the chaos. “Going out as a family is a nightmare.” Said Chloe. Tardiness is fairly common to the Schumachers. “If we’re supposed to leave at five, there’s always someone who forgot to put on shoes or needs a snack and we won’t end up leaving until 5:15” said Schumacher.

She doesn’t whine about being ‘exhausted’ or ‘overworked’. There’s no crying about the endless tests or stacks of homework. Self-sustainable perfectly describes her. She doesn’t rely on others to support her but instead takes matters into her own hands.

Up at 6:30, Chloe rushes to get ready on a daily basis. Outfit, check. Makeup, check. Hair, check. She hurries out of the house, trying to avoid any attempts of small talk by family members. Half asleep from a sleepless night, she drives to Kirkwood to begin the day’s classes. She types away on her computer, taking notes of film lectures and teaching instructions. Rushed, she drives herself back into Mount Vernon to finish off her day’s classes at the high school. Even in all this chaos, Chloe keeps her grades high enough to be inducted into National Honor Society. The clock hasn’t even struck noon, but Schumacher has accomplished more in a few hours than most high school students all day long.

From school she heads off to work, yet even her work is atypical. Most Mount Vernon students work at the local subway or grocery store, but Chloe works as a bartender at the local golf course.  Although the legal drinking age is 21, anyone can bartend once they hit 18. Yet, it’s almost taboo to think of anyone under the age of 21 being a bartender. As difficult as her customers may get, Chloe loves her job nonetheless.

After cleaning up from her shift at work, Chloe scurries to 3:30 tennis practice. “Tennis is something I’ve always done, and I couldn’t imagine not doing it my senior year.” Said Schumacher. Although she’s already exhausted from a long day, Chloe runs her laps and still enthusiastically works on her groundstrokes and serves. The days of a tennis meet offer a special struggle–trying to coordinate around her already hectic schedule. Yet somehow, Chloe makes it all work.

Most high school students go home after sports practices and begin to relax and work on the day’s homework, but not Chloe. She gets back in her car for a quick drive home from the courts (only a few blocks) and runs inside for a quick snack and hopefully, if the house is quiet enough, a nap too. “Short naps are the key to my life”, said Schumacher. Recharged, she heads out once again–this time to musical rehearsal.

She takes her seat in the audience and whips out her computer. She hauls her laptop everywhere she goes. It’s her secret weapon. It’s not uncommon to see her clicking away, finishing up a paper for her religions class. Waiting for her turn on stage, she works tirelessly to catch up on the day’s homework. She blocks out the singing in the background and clicks away at her keyboard.

“Do you hear the people sing?”

Click..click click click.

“Singing the songs of angry men.”

Click click, click…

She transitions back and forth from the lights of the stage to the darkness of the seats until the sun sets outside and the moon comes out. Rehearsal ends no later than 10:00 p.m, but even then, Chloe’s day is far from over.

Once again, she returns home for a few minutes before heading off to her second job, a night nanny, her final activity for the day. She drives further into town and parks her car in the dimly lit streets. Exhausted, she opens the door to the darkened house and throws herself down on the couch. The night consists of soothing crying babies and nightmare-scared children. But eventually, the parents return and Chloe heads back home.

The clock strikes 3:30 a.m. The bags under her eyes are deeper than the Grand Canyon. The sun is about to rise, starting the next day, but Chloe’s previous day has yet to end. She crawls into bed and instantly drifts off to sleep.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Click.

Chloe drags herself out of bed after a measly three hours asleep. But a lack of sleep won’t’ stop her. Makeup, check. Hair, check. Outfit, check. She hurries out of the house and into her car, putting on a smile on the way out–excited for the day to come.