Back 2 School (Part 2 of 2)

Original Air Date: 08.31.04
Opening Song: "Favorite Fantasy" - Jon Secada

The first B-day of the school year was a tad on the frustrating side. My first class was Journalism (woo woo) and after that was AP U.S. Government & Politics, a class I considered dropping all summer. To my surprise, the class doesn't seem nearly as intricate and complex as AP U.S. History, which is a relief. Also, we won't be having any daily quizzes or daily presidential outlines to turn in!

Third period was definitely among the worst classes I've ever had: American Sign Language. It's not that I think it's a pointless waste of time or anything, I just didn't sign up for it (no pun intended). My archnemesis, Satan McHellfire, is in the class with me, making stupid comments every chance he gets (with his two groupies laughing at everything he says). Frankly, I'm embarrassed because everyone seemed to pick up all these signs (alphabet, numbers, and phrases) in less than an hour and I had lots of trouble trying to form the shapes with my hand. Even Shannon (who learned it in the 6th grade) could do the alphabet lightning-fast... so could Thiago and he's from Brazil! Arrgh! See what they're doing to me-- I'm so mad I'm turning into a pirate. Put simply, I don't like that class, but I'll just have to deal, practice it a LOT at home and get more comfortable with ASL, because it really is a good skill to have and we cannot continue to alienate the hearing-impaired. I've always caught on things right away (I never really had to study Spanish I-V but I earned straight A's, dancing was a piece of cake, the clarinet was easy to learn) but now I truly need to study if I want that A.

The fourth and final class was, by far, my favorite: Band IV. There I saw my friend and clarinet buddy, Amanda, who was confined to a wheelchair; she broke her leg after "jumping off a boat and landing the wrong way." Remember, children: Don't smoke the pot.

What did I learn today? I learned that it's very easy to take things for granted and become overconfident. Not all things come to us so easily (in my case, American Sign Language) and sometimes practice and independent preparation is requisite. Also, I learned that girls are "hot for teacher," and frankly, I'm gagging at the thought. Although some teachers are fresh out of college, it's creepy AND illegal in 48 states. (Yuck!)