Sophomore: wise fool

so today marks the end of the second day of sophomore year. I can tell you right off the bat that my second day was so much better than my first. I'm not really sure I got so overwhelmed. Most years, I do get overwhelmed, but nothing like what I felt at the end of 8 periods worth of course syllabases. I mean, I had no lunch last year, but my classes are more challenging than last year. Significantly more challenging than last year. I noticed that every year you enter a new grade, you look back on your most recent year of school, and it seems so easy and carefree, even if it wasnt while you were in that grade. I have to admit, though, I had a relatively easy freshmen year. looking back, there was not this huge jump from 8th to 9th grade, a very small transition period, and i had so much fun! of course, i had my trials and tribulations like everyone, but in retrospect, i was living such a good life in freshmen year. i went to almost all the dances, band was fun because of all the people (who are now gone) cedar point was one of the crowning memories of my young life, i had john kolesar/evan mason for eye candy, i loved almost all my teachers, gym was a blast, art was a blast, i went on so many field trips. freshmen formal was incredible, i hung out with my friends a lot. I could go one, but i think you get the idea.
this year just doesnt give off that vibe. now don't get me wrong, i wasnt expecting this year to be a walk in the park. it shouldnt be. but it was a jarring transition for me and my outlook, on the first day especially, was very bleak. it was like the "play hard" half of the "work hard, play hard" phrase was missing. Or maybe it was just the fact that i had to walk home in the 90 degree sun after not having eaten for 6 hours. But I'm going to stop whining and tell you, objectively, about my first day.
English seems like a great course. mariel had ms. insinger also and had mostly negative things to say about her, but to me, she seems like a sweet person. she obviously has an appreciation for the english language and writing in general, and she seems thoroughly qualified to teach that class. a few of my classmates: jess <3, christian, nina, mark joanow, pierre francois, suzanne, erin, miggy etc. My art class is intensive, to say the least. our teacher, ms. witko, is obviously an excellent, experienced artist. we have legit homework in that class and will be bogged with projects. however, since art is a release for me, the focused work will be good. ms. witko seems nice, but strict. not to mention gorgeous. seriously, she could be a model. some of my classmates: becky, sara giarrtano, sam madden, aafia etc. gym is STUPID i hate gym. honestly, i hate it. today was my first day of it and its awful. i generally dont have a problem with gym. take last year: gym was my favorite class of the day. but this year its absolutely awful. the only person i know in that class is paul barone. and nothing against paul but hes literally the only person i know. argghh. band is, well, band. it obviously stinks w/o all the seniors. but i'm having fun so far and its probably the best class of the day. except that i tried practicing just now and it went horribly. so thats enough of that. some classmates: nerds. chemistry wasnt bad the first two days. today we actually got into some course work, talking about matter and stuff (why matter matters lol thanks mr. piasick) and although its gonna be dry and math-heavy, i think i can get through it. now a word in my defense: i heard rumors that mr. piasick was hot (ahem my sister ahem) and i refused to believe it, or accept that i too, would fall into his gorgeous, blue-eyed trap... SEE?? there i go. hes hot. hes pretty much in the gorgeous category. i hope that doesnt affect my grades (hehe) some classmates: jess, erin, orionne, christina, julia, russel broere, mark joanow etc. math i cant say much about because i dont want to say that its "not bad" and then have to eat my words later. but i'm going to agree with jess and say that mrs. wittenberg doesnt have much of a personality. i blame it on her math brain. so far we're just doing review, and im enjoying having math 6th period as opposed to first thing in the morning. some classmates: jess, kerianne, chrisitan, paul, schenkman, christina, caroline etc. you know how i said that band was my favorite class? well, global most defenitely comes in second. mr. o'connor is a leprachuan, as mariel so accurately puts it. he loves to talk about his music, his sports, his family, everything! we had a great discussion today about freedom of speech and believe it or not, he actually appreciates intelligent statements! ok, so they're not on the level of a rauschenbach discussion, but maybe they'll get there as the year goes on. he wears glasses, has a temper and lets us eat in class. some classmates: chritina (are you seeing a patern here?) elly, cheyenne, schenkman, davidta, suzanne, erin, nina etc. and to finish off the day with a hot classroom and more than a dash of french. wow. on the first day, you should have seen my face in that class. i was about to cry. not that what she was saying was so scary, just that it was COMPLETELY IN FRENCH. please dont misinterpret me: i knew this was coming. i had heard from over 1,000 sources that you cant understand her. that she goes on tangents. that her english is horrible. its different when you're sitting in her class and shes addressing you. now not to toot my own horn, but from growing up with a french-speaking mother, i understand spoken french very well. i understood 99% of what madame was saying, with accurate grammar and everthing. its when i have to speak or write, thats when it becomes a problem. shes a very very sweet lady. her accents adorable and you kinda want to give her a hug. so its not her personality that intimidates me. its her expertise of the language that kinda stops me in my tracks. but as i found out today, she does not expect us all to be on her level. she is great with helping people out. she even encourages us to whisper help to a classmate who is having trouble verbally answering a question. and shes so flustered and confused that its becoming increasingly difficult to be afraid of her.
this was, believe it or not, a brief overview of my school day. i am proud to say that by 4:00 my homework was completed, i took a call for baby-sitting and i pitifully attempted to practice. i now have the tyra show, dinner, a shower and sleep ahead of me.

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