I haven’t had breakfast before school for the majority of my adolescent existence. It isn’t even that I don’t want to: on weekends I spend at least an hour every morning making elaborate breakfasts complete with scrambled eggs, veggies, waffles and more. Think of any breakfast food, and I’ve made it. The problem is that during the week, I feel too rushed to take the time to make breakfast. Getting parking is way more important to me than a morning boost of sugar and carbohydrates. However, I spent a week experiencing the supposed “most important meal of the day,” and let me tell you: it’s magical.

On day one, I mixed yogurt with granola, dried cranberries, chocolate chips and honey. I was, as usual, running late, so I scooped it into my tupperware and jumped in my car. Day two was breakfast at home: scrambled eggs with parmesan, fresh veggies and whole grain toast. Day three was pancakes. Four was sliced apples with almond butter and oatmeal. Finally, on Friday, I celebrated the incoming weekend with cold pizza (don’t judge me, I’m human too).

Making sure I had a different breakfast each day was an important part of keeping myself excited enough to continue the challenge of eating. I ran out of creative, healthy meal ideas toward the end of the week, and I definitely felt it. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were all wonderfully light, yet still kept me energized until lunch. I accidentally made too much oatmeal on Thursday and overate, but the oats kept me chugging along until lunch came around. On Friday, however, running on a singular slice of Costco pizza and carbonated water made it difficult for my body to keep up with the brutal five-period schedule.

The differences in nutritional value had a clear effect on how well I could focus in class and stay satiated. My final breakfast was a stark contrast to the rest of the week, and it really showed me that eating breakfast—and what you eat for it—really makes an impact on your day.