Back 2 School (Part 1 of 2)

Original Air Date: 08.30.04
Opening Song: "9 to 5" - Dolly Parton

Today was the first day of my senior year in high school. This is, by far, the easiest course load I've had during my entire high school career... and I'm lovin' it!

During Mr. White's Homeroom Period, we had a moment of silence for Jamahl and throughout the day, there were no terrible riots nor was there any racial tension lingering in the air. My first class was AP Psychology, saw a couple of friends (Allison, Josh, and Heather) and met a new one, Jessica. After that, I headed down to the weight room and realized that we were probably supposed to meet in the gym. It wasn't a complete loss since I had the chance to meet, greet, and guide a foreign exchange student from Brazil named Thiago. He just seemed very familiar, but that's probably because he reminds me of that guy from "What A Girl Wants." (Go figure)

I dropped Janelle's birthday present off at Mrs. Kasper's classroom and then, it was off to third period, English 12, the only class I was dreading. Everyone has heard urban legends about how evil that teacher really is when only one person in this class actually knows her: Jessica. Strangely enough, we had a substitute teacher on the first day of English 12. A former police officer, he mainly talked about road rage, juvenille criminal records and sexual assault.

Of course, I was asked to come up to the front of the class so he could demonstrate a violation of personal space. It was awkward... I was displayed in front of everyone like a circus monkey, instructed to set the limits of how close is TOO close. No offense to Mr. Police Man but 8 feet is the closest we need to be. After doing that, I went to 3-2 Lunch and was reunited with Kellie and Crazy Autumn. We had a fun chat, Autumn rubbed my shaved head for good luck but once again, I was called a "whore." I'm not going to deny it, but the whole left side of cafeteria doesn't need to know. Also, Autumn wanted me to go to on a blind date with a guy who works with her... and I told her to take the info to John. I'm very selective and I need to get to know someone before I even consider dating him or her. She said she was originally going to give it to him, but he was surrounded by his entourage (The Ferg Hergs). I have my posse, but I only get to see them after school hours.

The last class I went to was Yearbook I, a class full of seniors. I never realized how expensive it was to publish a yearbook; last year's bill was over 60,000 dollars American (or 6 billion pesos) and out of 1500 students, about 600 actually bought the $65 yearbook last year. The 2004-2005 Fore N' Aft Yearbook's theme is "Reflections," and I have my eyes on the editor job. Fingers crossed.

Everything ended on a high note; I saw Carolyn and Shannon at the end of the day, shared some small talk and walked home. I got home, had some Chicken Noodle Soup and passed out on the bed, and tomorrow I get to do it all over again.

What did I learn today (besides the cost of yearbook production)? I learned how easy it is to make a friend, either by helping him find a classroom or by offering her an Altoid. Oh yeah, I also learned that a lot of seniors are serious about attending a good college and are setting personal goals, which I love. Jessica put it best today, considering the community college "13th Grade." This is VERY accurate because typically, a lot of NHS students attend AACC, so it's like continuing high school after 12th grade.