The Heart of BCA by Juliana Johnson

November 27, 2018

6:00 A.M.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Your alarm clock goes off at the new time that you will be getting up at from now until June 15th. Nevertheless, you hit snooze; once, twice, and even five more times after that. It is going to be a long day. Taking a deep breath in, you pull yourself together and get ready for the day. Breakfast was going to be cereal but somebody finished off the milk, and of course you realized this only after pouring the cereal—mega oof. So, with an apple in hand, you make your way to a new educational system.

Barrington Christian Academy is located, obviously, in Barrington. This school, being a private Christian school that is open to everyone, has a commute radius that can vary from five minutes to almost two hours on the bus. BCA has a total population of around 200 kids in K-12, thus bringing the school to the status of a big family—and the people inside certainly show it.

7:30 A.M.

Pulling up to building, you tell yourself that it won't be that bad, right? Walking in through the double doors, you're greeted by the most frequently seen person in BCA: Mrs. Sutton. She opens the door for you and greets you with a warm smile as she directs you to the library. Walking down the hallway, it's rather quiet in the school before the day begins. So, you look around at the art, the awards, and the bulletin board that all is edging along on the wall to the library. You walk in take a seat at the wooden tables and wait. Taking out your phone to distract yourself, more people start to come in. Some loud, some quiet, some laugh and some look very perturbed. Lowering the music on your phone, yet keeping the earbuds in, you wonder who you will connect with here. A tall redhead walks by and introduces himself and has a seat on the couch. Another person struts in, this time an enthusiastic shorter girl (even in heels she's short) and is suggesting morning prayer; hoping to get others prepared for the day by praying beforehand. The bell rings, yet you're confused. Everybody floods out of the library to their respective homerooms, but all you heard was a beep. Thankfully, someone snatches you up in conversation, and it they mention they are in your grade and are so happy that you are here.

Since Barrington Christian Academy is so small, not many new kids tend to arrive. The people who started in kindergarten are still together in the high school, and they have grown so used to each other that this ‘family love’ is apparent, yet a new person coming in truly seems to get everyone excited. “Who is it going to be?” “What grade?” “Is it a girl?” “We got dibs on friending her first!” “I hope they play softball, we need another girl!” — and so on and so forth, for the questions pour out as the awaited arrival of a new family member is now uniting with the whole group.

8:10 A.M.

Walking into homeroom, you are about to introduce yourself as all new kids do, but you are not fast enough, as this newfound friend has introduced you to half the class already. Everyone has questions but some will have to wait as the “bell” has just rang and it's time for the actual school day to begin. Luckily, most of the class has the same schedule as you, so there's not much need for wandering and asking too many directions.

11:45 A.M.

Four classes down, three to go. You have lunch now and something called recess… 

Thinking to yourself, you wonder why a high schooler still has “recess” on their schedule, but you’re not complaining! Following the pack of people in your grade, everyone heads to lunch in the multipurpose room. The name itself is intriguing, the multipurpose room, for how many things can actually be done in one room? But that's a question for another time. It's not hard to find a seat at lunch, as you're guided by a herd of students on where to sit— all of which say is “next to them.”

1:10 P.M.

Finally, it's last period and you have a study hall, so you take this time to think about the day and even decide to do some homework. Every class shares a similar atmosphere, for you were always met with a comforting smile or positive encouragement from every teacher at the door. It is not be too bad here, even if it's far and a little smaller than other schools. BCA has heart, and as they say, home is where the heart is—or at the very least a place where you're going to enjoy the high school years.