A bagel with cream cheese and an apple are just two breakfast choices some students find healthy. Photo by: Kennedy Schnieders
By Kennedy Schnieders
After the alarm-clock blares and students roll out of bed to start preparing for the day ahead, some make the choice to grab a bite to eat before heading off to school.
People hear all throughout their lives how important eating breakfast is. Contemporary society seems to believe that breakfast is the key to being successful in school; however, while some students are of the same mind, not all of them agree with this age-old belief. Breakfast “jumpstarts your day and wakes you up,” claimed sophomore Adrianna Enders. This distinct dichotomy of those who believe breakfast is important and those who do not it emphasized by senior Lane Larsen who stated that, “I do not eat breakfast in the morning and I do just fine.” While this may be true for Larsen, junior Guadalupe Ortiz stated in contrast that, “I feel as though if you don’t eat breakfast that you will be tired throughout the day.”
Despite most students possessing differing opinions as to why or why not breakfast is important, many of them still have thoughts on what foods ultimately make healthy choices in the morning. Sophomore Ty Irwin and Larsen both concur that fruit and vegetables are both healthy choices for a morning meal. More specifically, Ortiz stated that her healthy, daily breakfast consists of “almond milk, whole wheat toasted bread with a little Nutella, and a banana or apple.” She believes that this is a healthy choice because it does not contain something like a “sugary cereal.” Another student, senior Kristina Ratcliff, considers her “bagel with cream cheese and a glass of milk” a healthy choice for breakfast as well.
Sugary breakfast treats such as Pop Tarts or cereals are just a few of the choices some may believe make a bad choice for breakfast. Photo by: Kennedy Schnieders
Even though some students may believe that eating breakfast is an important part of starting one’s day right, there may be external influences that impact their decision to have a morning meal. Factors such as school or other family members’ responsibilities can influence a student’s choices in the morning. Irwin stated that he “sometimes” eats breakfast because he is “always in a rush to get to the bus.” Because of this lack of time, Irwin claimed that he just takes whatever food he can in the morning, instead of preparing a full meal. Students who do not ride the bus to school can be affected by their parents’ morning schedules as well–be that for better or worse. “[My parents] will wait for me, so timing does not affect my morning,” stated Ortiz. Sophomore Bailey Hatfield also claimed that his family’s decisions in the morning can influence his morning routine. If students do not have enough time to grab a bite to eat in the morning, then they could go a good portion of the day before getting anything of nutritional value in their bodies. Senior William Wleklinski’s first meal of the day is lunch; however, he claimed that he does not notice a significant reduction in his performance at school.
Aging and school can also influence how students go about starting their day. Ortiz announced that “My habits have most definitely changed since I have gotten older. When I was younger, I would be one of those people that ate a sugary cereal every morning for breakfast.” School could play a major role in this; they might be exposed to classes that influence them to make healthier choices involving their diet, or their time in the morning could just be cut shorter, eliminating breakfast completely. In contrast to this, Enders, who arrives at the school early for breakfast every day, has “just started eating breakfast this year.”