A Day in the Life – Lucy Lister (SLOCAHS Sophomore)

Today, we’re returning to a beloved series on the Down Home Blog with a Day in the Life! This time, we’ve invited Lucy Lister, a SLOCAHS Sophomore, to tell us about her experience with our debut Immersives*** program that just wrapped up in January. She’s also given us a bonus day—a peek into her life on a home day!

Thank you, Lucy, for sharing your life with us! And stay tuned for another blog post on our amazing High School Immersives—coming Friday!

School Day 

6:40-7:00am – My alarm goes off at 6:40 and I’m hopefully out of bed, changed, and taking my dog out for a run by 7:00. I like to run a shorter route in my neighborhood which takes around 20 – 25 minutes.  

7:25-7:40am – When I get back, I shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast. When it’s my dad’s week with us, he normally gets up early and makes us a nice breakfast. 

7:40-7:50am – Before we leave, I check my bag to make sure I have everything for my immersive class***. I am taking “Food: We Are What We Eat” with Dr Bleisch. I make sure I’ve packed my apron and a pre-packed lunch. We normally make a dish in our class but I like to bring lunch as well.  

7:55-8:15am – My little brother, Teddy, likes to be early to school so we’re leaving the house a little earlier. It’s not a very far drive: we live near the SLO Airport. In the car, we sometimes listen to audiobooks or podcasts, but most of the time it’s music. Once my three younger siblings have been dropped off at the main campus, my dad drops me off at Grace church where we’re taking our immersives.  

8:40-9:00am – Before class starts, I like to read a book I’ve brought. Right now I’m reading War Doctor by David Nott. 

9:00-11:00am – In the Food immersive, our class routine is usually this: Reading (on Wednesday it was Wendell Berry’s In The Pleasure of Eating), Taste Presentation (presentation on a simple or complicated ingredient or dish. I’m doing mine today on Zimt Kuchen, a german coffee cake), watching Cooked on Netflix, and reading and discussing a poem. 

11:00am-12:00pm – To make our food, we use the Cottage Kitchen, which is a house close by to Grace. On Wednesday, we made Russian Blinis, which are sweet and savory pancakes. On Friday, we made pizza. 

12:00-1:00pm – We have an hour lunch break which lets us go downtown and hangout. We normally order lunch or a snack at a restaurant and stay there. It’s awesome that we can go downtown – there’s so much to do! 

1:00-3:30pm –  After lunch, we watch Michael Pollan’s Cooked on Netflix. It goes over the four different ways of cooking and the significance to us. Then, we go over a poem and discuss it. Our class normally gets out a little early, so during that time we’ll play in the gym. 

3:30-5:30pm – After school, I’ll normally go to the library or hangout with my friends. Sometimes with Food Class we have optional extra credit outings. On Thursday, we went downtown to the Farmer’s Market and interviewed farmers. On Monday, we’re going to Talley Farms. 

5:30-7:30pm – When I get back home, I unpack my lunch and backpack and get ready for the next day. Before dinner, I try to get some HLR** reading done for our February due date. I take my math through an online course, so I try to do some also. Sometimes I help make dinner, but it’s usually my parents who do. 

7:30-8:30pm – After dinner, I shower, get all my stuff packed, and read a little bit. If I have time I might watch an episode of TV: right now I’m watching Veronica Mars and Modern Family.  

8:30-9:30pm – I normally go to bed pretty early because I’m tired. I share a room with my sister, so sometimes I go to bed earlier or later. 

*SLOCA Immersive Classes: The immersive classes are a three week course in which students and the teachers take a deep dive into a teacher’s selected area of interest. This is instead of weekly electives. This is also SLOCA’s first year trying this. Some examples are: Mesoamerican Culture with Sr. Braga, Psychology with Mrs. Auguas, Harry Potter with Ms Giacoletti, and Military History with Dr. Rocha.   

**HLR: HLR is SLOCAHS’s literary journal: Hanging Lantern Review. This year is our 10th anniversary. 

Home Day 

7:00-7:30am – I usually get up a little later and take my dog out for a run in the neighborhood. 

7:30-8:30am – My dad usually makes breakfast but sometimes we make our own. All three of my younger siblings are in the Full Time Progam so they leave for school at 8. 

8:30-10:30am – After everyone leaves, I start on my math and Driver’s Ed work. Most of my friends have their permits or licenses, which I’m very envious about but I started on my permit late so I’m working on it.

10:30-11:30am – With the Food Immersive, there’s not a lot of homework so Home Days are pretty open. After working for a while, I like to take a break to read, draw, or text my friends. 

11:30am-12:15pm – My family and I are working on building a chicken coop but our yard is pretty flooded from the storm so we take a little time each day to clear some of the branches, leaves, and litter away. For lunch, I’ll either make something simple or heat up something. Today, I had pizza. 

12:15-3:30pm – In our Food immersive, we have a big presentation due at the end of the course. We each picked a topic relating to food (whether it’s a problem or comparison etc) and over the next two weeks, we research and prepare to present to the class. The topic that I’ve chosen is how to eat respectfully: meaning how to pay attention to food and yourself. Right now, I’m researching on why chemicals in processed foods can be so addictive to our brains.   

3:30-5:30pm – After getting some work done, I’ll hang out with my dog and read a book.  I checked out The Imposter Bride at the library so I’m reading that right now. 

The Immersives are a good time to get big projects for school started or done. The Science Fair is a big project which I’m starting soon. 

5:30-7:30pm – My dad leaves to pick up all my siblings and gets back around 5:30. He makes dinner for all of us and then we help clean up. 

7:30-8:30pm –  Before bed, I’ll try to read a book but that doesn’t always happen. My dog normally sleeps on my sister’s bed, but he’s an enormous dog (120 pounds!!) and hogs the entire bed. It’s pretty funny to watch.