I survived my last first day of school. (In college, it will be the first day of "class.") It didn't start out too well. I was running a bit late getting ready. Then, my bus didn't show until 9:20. It's supposed to be here at 8:55, which is late anyway, because we'll get to school at 9:20, which leaves me ten minutes leeway on a perfect day. And I didn't get to see Greg until the end of the day.
My schedule turned out fine. I've never had to get a schedule change, so this wouldn't have been a good time to start.
First Period: Pre-Calculus BC, O'Neal I was late. It didn't matter. My teacher is out for a while (I think our sort-of sub said her father-in-law died), so I won't get to decide about her for a while. I talked to Jarred and his friend, Tyrell. And briefly to Vicki. I totally forgot that advanced sophomores take PreCal.
Second Period: RP Biology, Comerford Ms. Comerford seems rather uptight. And not to sound rude, but there has to be a reason she wears that glove. I'm curious as to why. I only got RP Bio because I have to have it second period, but my RP project isn't engineering, so I guess that works out. Speaking of which, I finally got a positive response from a potential mentor. An organist chemist, which is right along the lines of my project. Yay. The class seems like it'll be ludicrously easy.
Third Period: Geology, Witko I didn't know Mr. Witko was diabetic. That reminded me of my grandma. I miss her. From what I hear, this won't be a hard class, either. Our in-class assignment was to find classmates with different characteristics: long hair, oldest, freckles, walks to school, takes music lessons, etc. I think we screwed it up a little, but hey. It's the first day.
Fourth Period: Lunch Not bad. I sat with Hope, Jarred, and some other guy who I was introduced to but whose name I can't remember. There are a lot of people there, but it's not packed. And I think it's a better time of day. I'm hungry, but not too much, and I don't get hungry before the end of the day like I used to. At least, not so far.
Fifth/Sixth Period: AP US History, Adkins The ominous Mr. Adkins. Everything I've heard is true. Tears came out of my eyes once when I laughed. Just thinking about that story he told is making me laugh now. The course enrollment dropped like mad: 100+ to 45. Two double-period sections. He has good feelings about the double-period thing, as do I. Somehow, I'm not afraid that he'll charge forward and leave everyone in his wake. We still have to know the material. Hopefully longer classes (and knowing tons of Adkins veterans!) will help me out in May. ... Which is when we'll get out of school... 'cause we're
seniors!!!
Seventh/Eighth Period: AP English Literature, Sim This was nice. Ms. Sim is a little eccentric, but I like her. And she seems to like me, without having had me as a student. Hell, she lent me her Shopaholic books last year -- and offered to lend them to me again to finish. How blatantly nice is that? She seemed pleased with my summer reading notes. This one's a
really big class; so big that I, being the last person alphabetically, have been banished to the front table. That's my seat for now. I really hope I get to move; I feel so conspicuous and paranoid up there. I also thought it was very rude when she called out Greg and me, our relationship, and his being "in love." Yes, we're a couple. Yes, everyone who care to know knows. No, we do not want to be called out on it. It would do well for her to respect that. No one's going to ask publicly if she's married, and if she isn't, why not. Just because we're students doesn't mean
she doesn't have to respect
us.
The new gym looks incredible. The walls are gorgeous, the entry doors are shiny and new, the windows are almost sparkly. And they replaced and widened the sidewalks. The only problem is that we still have the same run-down school. It looks worse now with the beautiful (not yet open) gym next to it. I heard they were adding more temporaries, but all my classes are inside this year, so I don't know. (Cool, my umbrella will get much less wear and tear this year.)
Over two hundred freshmen are repeating this year. Two hundred. That's ludicrous. (My word du jour. That and "ostentatious".) Most of them are on the five-year plan because they didn't go to class. What is wrong with them? I suppose most of them only attend school because they're required by law, and if they don't feel like going to class, they don't. It's sad, really. I know everyone deserves a chance at an education, especially since in this country, it's free, but if we sifted out the apathetic, I truly believe there'd be fewer truancy problems.
I went through my enormous stack of college mail this afternoon. (I am
such a pack rat sometimes.) I kept only a few interesting brochures, and all the applications (the important thing). I was inspired to do this weeding-out when I got applications today for College Park and UMBC, both of which I will keep. A pleasant surprise is that my fees will be waived for those schools because I am a Maryland Distinguished Scholar Honorable Mention recipient. Yes, as Mykella once put it, that's a fancy way of saying I lost, but if it saves me fifty to one hundred dollars, I'm good.
