high school part one
so i had to do this assignment, describing what my high school experience was like. I'm telling it to my grand child explaining what it was like back in the day.This is the abridged and simple version, its not to detail as it will be turned in the story up to mid sophomore year....
What do you mean, “back in the day”? Is it so difficult to believe that feelings, time, space, people can not be universal? If you ask me what my life was like in high school, the simplest answer would be that my high school experience was just like yours will be. On a humanistic level, everything is based upon the people you meet, and I’m willing to bet you’ll meet some people you love; some you hate, some you know will be with you forever. So really, my child, are you asking me of the trivial and archaic devices and things that existed in “my day” or are you asking me to tell you anecdotes of my experiences? Ah, you want anecdotes? That is feasible. I heard a song once that said “When I’m at the pearly gates, this will be on my videotape”, I suppose videotape is also archaic, but the meaning behind memories should not be, these people were real, tangible, and important. You’ll meet these people too, but with different faces, names, places. You can find them and you will, but here, learn about mine.
The first day of my high school year, I got up early to straighten my hair. By early, I mean 5:30. It was too early, my hair was done way too early which gave me way too much time to sit and think about how I had this new experience placed before me. It’s so rare you get these chances to start over, make new. I didn’t really think about that. Does my hair look okay? I kept thinking about first impressions, those cliché high school television shows. But I wasn’t scared; I knew it was normal, and that I would be alright. For the first time, my mom didn’t take me to the first day of school. She dropped me off at a school bus stop near her work, because she wouldn’t have had enough time to take me to school and be at work in time. My friend from middle school, Danielle, took the bus with me. Neither of us had ever ridden a bus before, a day of many firsts. (A bus, by the way, is a large form of those cars you’ve seen in person. They were old when we rode them, no seat belts, seats with gum and graffiti and a perpetually annoyed driver) We got to school. Wait, stop. You would think that it is some beautiful moment, yes, this is high school. Not really, we were early, there weren’t many people there. The campus of Wilson High School was beautiful, the old architecture made you feel at home. The sunlight peaked over the tops of buildings that formed a circle around you. With the sun and the peace of the grass you almost didn’t notice the fact that you were ensnared by gates. It was a majestic scene. Then people stepped on the campus. I got through my first day of classes mostly unscathed. It worked out very well.
Wait, really, you really want to know this? I can tell you a nice version that describes everything how I think it’s appropriate for you to hear or I could tell you an accurate version. However inappropriate it may seem, I feel like it’s best to tell the honest version. The thing is, you’re not quite old enough for the honest version. I know that you want the honest version. I’ll tell it to you in an abridged form how about that?
So the first day was over, I had survived. You may say getting there could have been the hardest part. I mean, once you’re there at least its not so foreign anymore. But in all honesty, sometimes it seems as though everyday could be a challenge. In reality, there’s not too much to complain about. Life is pretty simple, and maybe some people need AP common sense in order to understand, that not everything is nearly as difficult as you may make it out to be. After school that day, I took the school bus home with another friend that I had known from dance, Marlena. Marlena is one of those people. You may not spend everyday with them, you may go a while without talking to them, but when you need them they’re going to be there. I’ve known her since I was about 5, when we began to dance together at Center Stage Dance Academy. We danced together there until college. And we were always friends together. She and I had both been through our toughest times together. I know that she was the glue to keep me from shattering at times. These bus rides home together were normal and simple, but looking back, I’m very glad I spent that time together with her. Through most of my freshman year we spent every day together after school. In fact, on these bus rides, we met some friends that we’ve kept to this day. Friends that greatly affected our lives. Being a freshman, the upperclassmen seemed like giants. And looking back on it, once I became one of the elusive seniors, I didn’t feel as though I was as large as seniors prior to me were. The classes were easy, dancing was there. I met many people that I would spend the next four years of my life with.
When I was a freshman I was in intermediate 5-6 dance in first period. 5-6 is the level right below advanced dance. All of the girls whom I danced with at my dance studio were in advanced so at first I felt a little slighted, but there were a few others who were also in 5-6 with me. This gave me a lot of confidence in my dancing. Rather than being the few lonely freshmen in advanced, we were the strongest of 5-6. It was good to feel that there was talent and skill behind what I was doing. This was when I first started to understand that dancing was more than just movement, and I didn’t have to do it just because my parents paid for it.
At the bus stop, the one I mentioned before, I met one of the first boys I ever dated in high school. The bus stop dropped me off at Millikan, another high school in Long Beach, and my mother’s work was near by. The boy, Nick, went to Millikan, we dated until summer, and while it was a bitter sweet good bye when he went back to San Diego, it was a lesson in attachment and the reality that high school is not forever. However, though things come to an end, reflecting upon how much fun it was to be with him overweighs the bad.
Well, I’m sorry; it’s very difficult to tell these stories in a linear fashion. Should I make you a time line? No, I don’t think I could even if you wanted me to. I’ll try my best to keep this in a simple explanation.
The summer after my freshman year, I went to Las Vegas for the Nationals competitions for my dance studio. I became a vegetarian in June, and stayed that way to this day. In august, I was fortunate enough to travel to New York on a dance scholarship. After a 9 hour flight, we landed in rain, without our bags. We didn’t receive our bags until an unpleasant hotel worker brought them up at 4 in the morning. We woke up at 6 the next day for class. I took mater classes for four exhausting hours a day. I would leave the brownstone studios, covered in sweat, tired, hungry, and go back to the hotel in time square, change clothes, and see Broadway shows each night. As tiring of a vacation as that was, it was a very good growing experience for me. I was the only one from my studio who went and I didn’t know anyone in the program in New York. It was worth it, to emerge myself within the unfamiliar and force myself to get along, to manage, to gain a sense of survivalism.
My sophomore year began. Not so uneasy, quite happy, ready to begin again. I was really happy to get back to where I felt I could belong and coexist with people I loved. I had made advanced dance which was such a big achievement for me, and I couldn’t have been happier. As nervous as I was to face the girls that I would be dancing with, I knew that I had earned my spot and right to be there.
This was the year that I had some of the closest friends around me. My circle of friends were inseparable, we all we on some level of dance which made each dance show my favorite time of year. Beth, Brittany, Lauren, Serena, Melissa, Michaela, and Sarah. We were all friends, and I could have spent time with any of them and been completely happy and content. This year, I felt like I was the luckiest person around just to be able to hold this many people so closely in my heart, and to know that I was loved by them. Sometimes, all people really want is “to love, and to be loved.” Beth and I loved to sing songs with headphones in, however we would forget how loud we were singing, and some people could get annoyed. Brittany and I took AP World History together this year, and enjoyed going out to lunch together. Lauren and I were so close at this point. I could have- and for the most part, did, tell her anything. She was someone I truly valued having around. Serena and I had so much fun being crazy, going to see Rocky Horror Picture Show, and concerts dressed up like the silliest people. Melissa, oh with her fiery red hair, what wasn’t to love about that girl. She always made me laugh with her quick funny quips. Michaela was such a character. I felt like every time she wasn’t speaking she had something amazing and wondrous floating around within her head waiting to explode out. Michaela also shared a love for music with me. One of the first times that we spent time together, we bought vinyl 7 inches, and ate green beans and tofu. Sarah was a beautiful girl who could twirl batons on fire. Need I say more? I was in constant awe of how amazing she was. We also spent freshman year in 5-6 as the infamous freshmen. I was so happy when she was put into advanced junior year. But nothing lasts forever. Little spats and constant change drew our group of friends apart. Melissa transferred to Poly, another high school. At the end of the summer, Michaela moved to France with her mother. It was all sad to watch the friendships deteriorate.
But at the same time without knowing or planning it, I planted the seed of a new friendship. During my unscheduled period at school, I became an aide for a beginning dance class. I learned more about dance having to teach it than I ever did from learning it. It was so eye opening, to teach the mechanics of the most elementary pieces of dancing made me see how to better dance myself. In this class, was one of the only boys in the dance department that year. His name was Kalani. He was always ready to learn, always tried his hardest, and to me (and others), he was the most talented in the class. When our teacher, Mrs. Ctvrtlik, took a month of personal leave, I got a chance to teach the class on my own. I got so close to all of the class, I felt like a mother to 30 kids, mostly my own age. Kalani won a dance scholarship given out by the dance department, and with the free classes he was given he progressed so much. In the next year, he would make advanced dance.
The school aspect of this year was a little more challenging, as the amount of responsibilities I took on increased.
What do you mean, “back in the day”? Is it so difficult to believe that feelings, time, space, people can not be universal? If you ask me what my life was like in high school, the simplest answer would be that my high school experience was just like yours will be. On a humanistic level, everything is based upon the people you meet, and I’m willing to bet you’ll meet some people you love; some you hate, some you know will be with you forever. So really, my child, are you asking me of the trivial and archaic devices and things that existed in “my day” or are you asking me to tell you anecdotes of my experiences? Ah, you want anecdotes? That is feasible. I heard a song once that said “When I’m at the pearly gates, this will be on my videotape”, I suppose videotape is also archaic, but the meaning behind memories should not be, these people were real, tangible, and important. You’ll meet these people too, but with different faces, names, places. You can find them and you will, but here, learn about mine.
The first day of my high school year, I got up early to straighten my hair. By early, I mean 5:30. It was too early, my hair was done way too early which gave me way too much time to sit and think about how I had this new experience placed before me. It’s so rare you get these chances to start over, make new. I didn’t really think about that. Does my hair look okay? I kept thinking about first impressions, those cliché high school television shows. But I wasn’t scared; I knew it was normal, and that I would be alright. For the first time, my mom didn’t take me to the first day of school. She dropped me off at a school bus stop near her work, because she wouldn’t have had enough time to take me to school and be at work in time. My friend from middle school, Danielle, took the bus with me. Neither of us had ever ridden a bus before, a day of many firsts. (A bus, by the way, is a large form of those cars you’ve seen in person. They were old when we rode them, no seat belts, seats with gum and graffiti and a perpetually annoyed driver) We got to school. Wait, stop. You would think that it is some beautiful moment, yes, this is high school. Not really, we were early, there weren’t many people there. The campus of Wilson High School was beautiful, the old architecture made you feel at home. The sunlight peaked over the tops of buildings that formed a circle around you. With the sun and the peace of the grass you almost didn’t notice the fact that you were ensnared by gates. It was a majestic scene. Then people stepped on the campus. I got through my first day of classes mostly unscathed. It worked out very well.
Wait, really, you really want to know this? I can tell you a nice version that describes everything how I think it’s appropriate for you to hear or I could tell you an accurate version. However inappropriate it may seem, I feel like it’s best to tell the honest version. The thing is, you’re not quite old enough for the honest version. I know that you want the honest version. I’ll tell it to you in an abridged form how about that?
So the first day was over, I had survived. You may say getting there could have been the hardest part. I mean, once you’re there at least its not so foreign anymore. But in all honesty, sometimes it seems as though everyday could be a challenge. In reality, there’s not too much to complain about. Life is pretty simple, and maybe some people need AP common sense in order to understand, that not everything is nearly as difficult as you may make it out to be. After school that day, I took the school bus home with another friend that I had known from dance, Marlena. Marlena is one of those people. You may not spend everyday with them, you may go a while without talking to them, but when you need them they’re going to be there. I’ve known her since I was about 5, when we began to dance together at Center Stage Dance Academy. We danced together there until college. And we were always friends together. She and I had both been through our toughest times together. I know that she was the glue to keep me from shattering at times. These bus rides home together were normal and simple, but looking back, I’m very glad I spent that time together with her. Through most of my freshman year we spent every day together after school. In fact, on these bus rides, we met some friends that we’ve kept to this day. Friends that greatly affected our lives. Being a freshman, the upperclassmen seemed like giants. And looking back on it, once I became one of the elusive seniors, I didn’t feel as though I was as large as seniors prior to me were. The classes were easy, dancing was there. I met many people that I would spend the next four years of my life with.
When I was a freshman I was in intermediate 5-6 dance in first period. 5-6 is the level right below advanced dance. All of the girls whom I danced with at my dance studio were in advanced so at first I felt a little slighted, but there were a few others who were also in 5-6 with me. This gave me a lot of confidence in my dancing. Rather than being the few lonely freshmen in advanced, we were the strongest of 5-6. It was good to feel that there was talent and skill behind what I was doing. This was when I first started to understand that dancing was more than just movement, and I didn’t have to do it just because my parents paid for it.
At the bus stop, the one I mentioned before, I met one of the first boys I ever dated in high school. The bus stop dropped me off at Millikan, another high school in Long Beach, and my mother’s work was near by. The boy, Nick, went to Millikan, we dated until summer, and while it was a bitter sweet good bye when he went back to San Diego, it was a lesson in attachment and the reality that high school is not forever. However, though things come to an end, reflecting upon how much fun it was to be with him overweighs the bad.
Well, I’m sorry; it’s very difficult to tell these stories in a linear fashion. Should I make you a time line? No, I don’t think I could even if you wanted me to. I’ll try my best to keep this in a simple explanation.
The summer after my freshman year, I went to Las Vegas for the Nationals competitions for my dance studio. I became a vegetarian in June, and stayed that way to this day. In august, I was fortunate enough to travel to New York on a dance scholarship. After a 9 hour flight, we landed in rain, without our bags. We didn’t receive our bags until an unpleasant hotel worker brought them up at 4 in the morning. We woke up at 6 the next day for class. I took mater classes for four exhausting hours a day. I would leave the brownstone studios, covered in sweat, tired, hungry, and go back to the hotel in time square, change clothes, and see Broadway shows each night. As tiring of a vacation as that was, it was a very good growing experience for me. I was the only one from my studio who went and I didn’t know anyone in the program in New York. It was worth it, to emerge myself within the unfamiliar and force myself to get along, to manage, to gain a sense of survivalism.
My sophomore year began. Not so uneasy, quite happy, ready to begin again. I was really happy to get back to where I felt I could belong and coexist with people I loved. I had made advanced dance which was such a big achievement for me, and I couldn’t have been happier. As nervous as I was to face the girls that I would be dancing with, I knew that I had earned my spot and right to be there.
This was the year that I had some of the closest friends around me. My circle of friends were inseparable, we all we on some level of dance which made each dance show my favorite time of year. Beth, Brittany, Lauren, Serena, Melissa, Michaela, and Sarah. We were all friends, and I could have spent time with any of them and been completely happy and content. This year, I felt like I was the luckiest person around just to be able to hold this many people so closely in my heart, and to know that I was loved by them. Sometimes, all people really want is “to love, and to be loved.” Beth and I loved to sing songs with headphones in, however we would forget how loud we were singing, and some people could get annoyed. Brittany and I took AP World History together this year, and enjoyed going out to lunch together. Lauren and I were so close at this point. I could have- and for the most part, did, tell her anything. She was someone I truly valued having around. Serena and I had so much fun being crazy, going to see Rocky Horror Picture Show, and concerts dressed up like the silliest people. Melissa, oh with her fiery red hair, what wasn’t to love about that girl. She always made me laugh with her quick funny quips. Michaela was such a character. I felt like every time she wasn’t speaking she had something amazing and wondrous floating around within her head waiting to explode out. Michaela also shared a love for music with me. One of the first times that we spent time together, we bought vinyl 7 inches, and ate green beans and tofu. Sarah was a beautiful girl who could twirl batons on fire. Need I say more? I was in constant awe of how amazing she was. We also spent freshman year in 5-6 as the infamous freshmen. I was so happy when she was put into advanced junior year. But nothing lasts forever. Little spats and constant change drew our group of friends apart. Melissa transferred to Poly, another high school. At the end of the summer, Michaela moved to France with her mother. It was all sad to watch the friendships deteriorate.
But at the same time without knowing or planning it, I planted the seed of a new friendship. During my unscheduled period at school, I became an aide for a beginning dance class. I learned more about dance having to teach it than I ever did from learning it. It was so eye opening, to teach the mechanics of the most elementary pieces of dancing made me see how to better dance myself. In this class, was one of the only boys in the dance department that year. His name was Kalani. He was always ready to learn, always tried his hardest, and to me (and others), he was the most talented in the class. When our teacher, Mrs. Ctvrtlik, took a month of personal leave, I got a chance to teach the class on my own. I got so close to all of the class, I felt like a mother to 30 kids, mostly my own age. Kalani won a dance scholarship given out by the dance department, and with the free classes he was given he progressed so much. In the next year, he would make advanced dance.
The school aspect of this year was a little more challenging, as the amount of responsibilities I took on increased.