Picture this: You are sitting in class with absolutely nothing to do but listen to your teacher drone on about some (I’m sure important), but extraordinarily dull topic. You pull out your computer and anxiously type “papas freezeria” into the search bar, desperate for some, any, intellectually stimulating pastime, only to be met with the one mythical creature that has the capability to strike fear into Liberty school student’s hearts like no other. The dreaded gnome, who is admittedly very cute on the outside but clearly has committed despicable crimes in its life: such as stealing our favorite brain-rotting games. But don’t worry! You always have your phone! You reach into your backpack and are met with…nothing? Your heart drops as you slowly turn your gaze towards the back wall of your classroom until you spot your phone, held captive in your teacher’s phone “hotel” (more like joy jail).  

With the new, highly restrictive phone policies, combined with the blocked websites, which aim to steal laughter and light out of Liberty students’ lives it can be hard to find other activities to become background noise during those everyday lectures.  

Lucky for you I’ve tested some suggested activities (shout out wikihow) for “what to do when you’re bored”.

1.) Baking- 3/10 

In theory, this would be a fun, tasty endeavor. Not so much in practice, however. Not only did I receive a multitude of strange stares from my fellow classmates, this wasn’t the only challenge I faced, as the lack of ovens in my English class led me to no other choice but to devour my cookie dough raw. If you’re going to test this one out, I highly recommend investing in an Easy-Bake oven (teacher permission required.) 

2.) Charades-5/10 

This unfortunately led to a bout of laughter that could only be stifled by exiting the classroom, this ab-building exercise has the potential to be outlawed in classrooms nationwide as it proves to be an immense distraction from actual learning. However, if your goal isn’t to learn (or you have a hankering to grow an 8-pack in 50 minutes), I would encourage you to give this one a try. 

3.) Learning a Tongue Twister- 1/10

I strongly advise against this advantageous adventure for it might lead to an angry attack of acute aggravation, which will cause atypical anxiety. This adjustment in atmosphere will eventually lead to your imminent failure on any test you take following this abysmal activity. Try saying that ten times fast. Not so fun is it?

4.) Folding Origami-7/10 

This endeavor proved to be relatively silent, and the repetition of folding the multicolored paper offered my brain some respite from the monotony of my science lesson. However, it takes a special kind of genius to whip up the “easy 5-minute dragon” that was not as simple as the crafting aisle at Target promised, nor worth the $12.99. If you’re feeling particularly brave, I say go for it. But be prepared for disappointment, shattered dreams and an overwhelming amount of paper cuts.