There are so many ways that one can come into high school. So many feelings. There’s the kid who doesn’t even care, the dork, the skater, the one with 500 packages of loose-leaf paper, and there’s the perfectionist. I’ve always considered myself to be in the middle of the last two. Some freshmen are scared to death while there are the other ones who are ready to stomp into the hallway yelling, “Come at me, bro!” (Whilst yelling the year they graduate. . .)

            Coming into freshman year, I was excited. I was ready to learn. I was ready to experience new things. I had my ups and downs but the most exciting part was finding my way, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do throughout the rest of my high school career.

            I joined the Theatre Arts, hoping to be the highest ranked thespian by senior year. But as the class progressed I felt like it wasn’t the right thing for me. So I talked around, wondering what other exciting things I could get into. And then it hit me. K-AHS. I scurried around frantically, asking an insane amount of questions about how I could get a spot as an anchor, a producer -- anything.

            Over the summer all I could think about was landing myself in the best classes I could find. When I received my schedule I was thoroughly disappointed. BIM and Aerobics? Who even took those classes? I immediately talked to the counselor. When we got to her office she listed out all the empty electives I could take. I almost leaped to her computer myself trying to find Audio/Video Production on her list. At first glance, all the classes were full. All of a sudden she spotted one more A/V class that had one more seat. Was it meant to be, or what?

            My first day was quite interesting. I thought to myself ‘hey, I like the vibe. The teacher is awesome. I think this will be a great year.’ As the weeks went on, the curriculum was getting a little bit harder. I actually had to use my brain.

            I think my biggest flaw was trying to be a teacher’s pet. That’s how I’ve grown up, how I’ve always been with my teachers. I try to suck up; I try to be better than the person sitting next to me. But this year it just didn’t seem to work that way. I always come off as someone I’m not. I’m always asking questions; not only because I truly do need help, but also because I like the reassurance that a teacher gives, even when I ask something pretty self explanatory.

            In A/V production, I’ve noticed it the most. Sometimes I really am just annoying, and sometimes it’s simply that I feel so insecure in that certain social environment (I hope that makes sense.) Either way, I always feel like I’m doing something wrong, that I can never get anything right. But I can promise you right now that when I’m in my comfort zone, I’m nothing like that.

            Recently, I haven’t felt like myself, I haven’t shown my full potential. We all mess up, and we all make mistakes. We all have the bad impression we leave on someone. But there’s room to grow. Things can change. We all change. I hope that I can grow to learn to be more efficient, to work my best, and to be a good person. I’m hoping that by the end of this class I will have matured. I hope that I can show everybody who I am and what I really am trying to accomplish. And I hope that I make the top 24 cass ranking, because trust me. I really want that spot on K-AHS.