“Woke up, fell out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up, I noticed I was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke
And somebody spoke and I went into a dream.”
(From “A Day in the Life,” John Lennon & Paul McCartney”)
Inspired by recently hearing one of favorite Beatles songs, “A Day in the Life,” I thought an updated version of “A Day in the Life” would be fun.
This time it would be a day in the life of a typical 14-year-old boy.
Brandon, a young man who sees me periodically, filled me in on a typical day.
Here’s a re-creation of a conversation I had with him:
“So, Brandon, your mother is telling me you do nothing. You’re up in your room for hours. Fill me in. Let’s make believe we’re watching a video of a typical day in your life, after you get home from school.”
(Keep in mind his mother was sitting next to him as he walked me through it.)
“Well, I get home before 3:00 and I go up in my room,” Brandon tells me.
“So, what are you doing up there,” I ask
“I get on my Xbox and start playing.”
“How long are you playing?
“Maybe until about 4:30,” Brandon says, “and then I start watching TV or go on YouTube or watch a movie on Netflix. Then I either play some more Xbox and have dinner from around 6:00 to 6:15.”
“Are you on your phone during any of this?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m texting the whole time with my friends. I text them during dinner too.”
“What about any school work? Does that ever come up for you?”
“A little. Maybe about 7:00 for about 10 or 15 minutes then I go back on YouTube and Netflix or play some more Xbox until about 11:00.”
(At this point his mother has turned various colors as she listens to all of this. She’s astounded he’s being as honest as he is.)
“How about weekends? What are they like for you?
“Pretty much the same thing. I get up around 11:00 on Saturday and start playing Xbox and going no YouTube. Then I do that the rest of the day.”
Takeaway Point
A day in the life in 2022 is a little different than it was when the Beatles told us about it.
I think I will go go back to the Beatles rather than Xbox.
I read the news today, oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall
(From, “A Day in the Life,” Lennon & McCartney)