Morning Exercise is such an integral aspect of weekly life at Parker, yet we never take much time to think about how unique it is. When I think of my favorite Parker tradition, I think of the “12 Days” MX. I picture funny skits and dances, along with excitement about break. “12 Days” was always well rehearsed and entertaining, and the skits were always relevant. My earliest memories of Parker are MXs like this one.

But as the years have gone on, MX has come to feel more like an obligation than a privilege. I find myself dozing off during presentation after presentation that I will never reflect upon again, and it leaves me wondering what happened.

Not only are MXs getting less and less interesting, but their cancellation is truly inconvenient. This free time when MX is cancelled is not inherently a bad thing, but it is so out of the ordinary that it is impossible to bring myself to meet with teachers or do any work rather than hang out with friends as though this break were a treat. This year I find myself wishing I could skip MX, even if just once a week. I would have so much more time and would be much less stressed. If only a break like this were integrated into the schedule. That got me thinking.

Having only two MX’s would benefit not only the student body, but the MX committee. By getting rid of one MX a week, the MX committee would have to seek out irrelevant presenters less often, and be forced to spend more time choosing quality speakers and presenters.

This free period would benefit the student body by acting as another conference. Conference for 20 minutes twice a week is good for asking small questions, but if one 40 minute block of MX were used for a third conference, the student body would be able to talk to teachers about a missed class, confusing concepts, and much more. Although some students might treat the time like a pure break, students who used the time for schoolwork and meeting with teachers would be immensely benefited.

It’s not like I hate MX. It’s just that I’ve grown bored of it after repeated exposure to the same types of lectures and presentation over the years. If I were to have no MX, I would begin to understand how special and important it is. But maybe somewhere in between the two is the perfect amount. If we were to have only two a week, I believe we would all appreciate MX more.

Now I understand that some people might disagree with this plan because MX is a time where the Parker community gets together and learns together. But do we really want our time spent as a community to be so frequently dull and mind-numbing? Or, even worse, begrudged or resented?

When I go off into the world and look back at my time spent at Parker, I want to remember MXs I was genuinely interested in–not a nap-time integrated into my day 3 times a week.