A Day in the Life of a Perfect Harvard Student

Hello Harvard! My name is Maya, and I’m perfect. I hear a lot of you have been overwhelmed lately, and while I can’t relate to literally anything you’re going through, a lot of you have been asking what it’s like to be thriving, happy, and gorgeous every single day. Honestly, I’m really glad you asked. Growing up, I always felt like we didn’t have enough perfect role models to look up to. I want to change that. I think it’s really important to recognize that while some of us suffer from stress or anxiety, others of us suffer from success, and that’s okay, too. I just thought I would share a day in the life of the perfect Harvard student as a reminder that perfect people do exist, and we deserve to be seen and heard!

6:30 a.m.: I wake up to my alarm. The tone plays only once, for one second, because I wake up at the very first ring.

6:45 a.m.: I wear my clothes that were laid out the night before.

6:47 a.m.: I take the dentist’s recommended two minutes to brush my teeth. I don’t get to have a skincare routine like you all do. Unfortunately, since I’ve never been stressed, I have perfect skin and hair every single day.

7:00 a.m.: I walk into Lowell House dhall, where I make the difficult choice of choosing which one of my multiple friend groups I will sit with. Ultimately, I decide to split time between all seven groups, who equally demand my attention.

7:15 a.m.: As I eat my well-balanced, nutritious meal, I get a “good morning my sunshine pookie bear” text from my 6’ 11”, basketball player boyfriend who is also a Rhodes Scholar. I don’t text him back, because he’s just another 6’ 11” athlete boy I’ll date for like a summer and leave when I’m bored. If I ever got bored. Which I don’t.

7:30 a.m.: I go for a light, ten mile sprint around the Charles, avoiding the track coach who waits there every morning to try and recruit me for the team. People often ask how I have run ten miles for the last seven years without skipping a day. It’s simple: perseverance!

8:30 a.m.: After showering in my spotless communal bathroom, I blow dry my hair in my 250-square-foot single.

9:00 a.m.: I show up to my nine a.m. lecture, for which I have read every single reading, taken notes, and remembered the key points for at least one day in advance. I raise my hand no less than seven times and get called on each time to give a thoughtful response which incorporates my own opinions backed by several pieces of evidence from the readings and lectures, cited appropriately.

10:15 a.m.: I decided to enjoy the sunshine until lunch. Me and my multicultural group of friends sit on the grass in the Yard and talk about social issues, life goals, and our friendship. We’re all wearing Harvard gear, representing our pride in the school and the community we share. This is all captured beautifully in a candid, laughing photo taken by Dean Khurana.

12:00 p.m.: My boyfriend buys me food, and we share it on the steps of Widener. We walk back to Lowell, hand-in-hand, discussing our future and feminist ideals.

1:30 p.m.: I go to my second class of the day, where I piggyback off of four ideas and raise my hand thirty seconds before class ends so I can keep everyone an extra ten minutes while I share a vaguely related anecdote.

3:00 p.m.: I meet with my academic advisor. Once I clearly lay out my visions and goals, she tells me clear steps on how to organize my remaining semesters to achieve them. I’ve learned that help will always be given at Harvard to those who ask for it.

4:00 p.m.: I call my mom and dad, who are extremely supportive of my philosophy concentration. They encourage me to take a semester off and travel through Europe so I can discover who I really am. They also inquire about my boyfriend, who they consider family at this point.

5:00 p.m.: I go to my first club meeting of the day. I’m the president of four large clubs, so I stack the meetings back to back. (A lot of you have been asking how I manage so much, and my best advice is to try harder.)

9:00 p.m.: Because I finish my psets and assignments ahead of time each week, I go out nearly every day. I get ready with the girls, taking deep breaths as I turn down most of the invites on my phone. I hate disappointing any one of my hundreds of friends!

10:30 p.m.: Me and the girls get several perfectly posed photos for the Instagram story, hinting obviously that we’re in a final club without overtly specifying which one, although you can tell by the brick wall and the blurry guy walking in the back wearing a tie with the club insignia.

11:59 p.m.: I head back to Lowell to get just seven hours of sleep before my busy day tomorrow!

And just like that, I’ve survived another day of perfection. For those of you that are tired of being ugly and lonely, I highly recommend 1) doing better 2) improving and 3) succeeding if you’re looking for a place to start your journey. It’s really hard, and this life is definitely not as easy as it looks, but I highly encourage you to believe in yourself. You’re the only one who will!