High school can be a tough time figuring out how to juggle schoolwork, extracurriculars, sports, mental health, friends, and maybe even a job. Lauren Miller is a sophomore with an inspiring daily schedule and impressive goals that show how productive a high school student can be.

Lauren starts her day at 5:30 am. That’s right, 5:30. She exercises in the morning, followed by, of course, online school. After getting done with school at 3:00, she exercises again, eats dinner, and relaxes.

“I go to sleep around 8:45 to 9:15, it kinda depends,” Miller said. That’s quite a productive day and she exercises a lot, but why? Miller is exercising often because she is training for a triathlon, a race of swimming, biking, and running. 

“It was kind of meant for me, honestly,” said Miller. Since she has always been happy to move her body with cross country and swimming. She also explains that she often goes on long bike rides with her family during the summer, and her dad even does triathlons of his own. Miller enjoys the personal part of training for a triathlon. 

“You make up your own schedule,” Miller said. She explains that she has been preparing since March  2020, but the pandemic made things tough. Despite that, she feels she is training harder than ever now. “It’s like my form of fun.”

Miller finds inspiration in her family and her friends. “I think my friends definitely inspire me to be a better self,” she said. One of her goals is to maintain her GPA. She hopes to one day attend Western Michigan University to study something in medicine or business. She also wants  improve at piano, at which she is self-taught. She specifically likes to learn pieces that she hears while listening to piano music and thinks are cool. 

Another goal of Miller’s is “trying to be the best version of myself.” Oh, and, “It sounds kind of cheesy, but I really want to write a book.” Miller would like to write about something to do with the meaning of life, which she finds really interesting.

While Miller feels she is a very motivated and inspired person, she does face struggles, such as online school. However, she says it is one of the things that make her happy. “Even though it’s frustrating at times, I like it because I’m learning new things all the time.” Miller also likes making mistakes and learning from them. Another thing she enjoys is “setting little goals and reaching them, that makes me happy.”

To others that are struggling she shared some words of wisdom and encouragement. “You just have to take one day at a time and really, not like overthink anything.” She also makes it clear that everyone takes different paths to reach their goal, and that is okay.

Others around Miller see her motivated and happy personality too. “She puts others before herself,” said Ally Bruce ‘23. “I think that she is motivated and she is really all about the healthy lifestyle,”  Bruce added.

Lauren Miller is clearly a very active and motivated person who enjoys life because of the way she lives it. In her own words; “you just have to take one day at a time.”